Where The Heart Is
by FleeingDaylight
Summary: AU/Shikamaru is living in the city working a top tier job while his friends are finishing University. As much as he enjoys his job and his friends, he can't deny that he wants something more. It doesn't help that he keeps running into a familiar girl who's intensity eats at him every time he's visiting campus. Home is where the heart is, but you have to ask - what's in your heart?
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Hey this is my first fanfic so I really hope it's enjoyable. Please send any suggestions/critiques and whatever else as it has literally been years since I've written anything. My paragraphs didn't separate the way I wanted them to so I've got line breaks (Don't go crazy!). Also I am Canadian so excuse the spelling if you don't agree with it. I'm going to try and upload weekly so strap in!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, or anything from Naruto for that matter.

* * *

"Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" a slow voice drawled through the line. Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before responding. What a drag he thought to himself as he tried to contain his frustration.

"Yes, but that's clearly not the problem. It says there's a software error and I just turned this thing on for the first time." He could hear the IT rep typing away on the other end of the phone quietly and waited as patiently as he could for a response.

"Sir, what exactly does the pop up box say?"

"Software error detected." he reiterated. Shikamaru needed this computer for work but if he'd known that he would end up on hold for 45 minutes just to speak with the slowest working IT rep, he would've sucked it up and kept his old laptop a little longer. After another moment of silence Shikamaru spoke up again.

"Hey man, I'll just drop by a computer shop tomorrow and have someone look at it. I've got stuff to do tonight." The IT guy started another drawled response as Shikamaru pressed the end button on his phone and tossed it on the couch beside him. He put the laptop back on the coffee table in front of him stretching his arms out before standing and wandering to his fridge. He knew exactly what was in there, but still felt the grumbling disappointment of seeing nothing but a couple of bottles of water, half a block of cheese and some leftovers that have been there long enough for him to have forgotten what they were. "Shit" he mumbled under his breath as he closed the fridge door again. He paced back to the couch and picked up his phone to call his friend Ino.

* * *

A brief phone conversation, a shower and 20 minutes later, Shikamaru was pulling a black shirt over his head as he heard a knock on the door. Ino walked into his apartment before he could even turn to answer it.

"Shika! You should really lock your door, you never know who's trying to get in!" It only took her four steps to cross the small apartment and pull Shikamaru into her death grip of a bear hug.

"Ai! If I locked it then how would you let yourself in to assault me on a regular basis?" He grinned at her as she smacked him over the head.

"Are you ready to go? I'm pretty sure it'll get busy soon so we should..." She trailed off and looked Shikamaru up and down. Her eyebrow rose in exclamation and she met his eyes again.

"What are you..." Shikamaru trailed off as well as he looked her up and down and realized they were both wearing blue jeans and black shirts.

"Change." Ino chirped as she pulled out her phone and sat in one smooth motion. "You have two minutes."

Shikamaru grumbled something about bossy women and kicked his bedroom door closed behind him before she could make some smart ass retort. His room was usually meticulously clean as he barely had anything he didn't care about enough to leave on the floor. He figured if he had less things, he could maintain his lazy streak and clean only when absolutely necessary. His room was as simple as the rest of his apartment. Off white walls with grey covers on his bed, a full length mirror and walk in closet. Currently his clothes from the last few days were strewn across the floor, neglected as the past week had been hectic between starting a new job and sending his best friend Choji off on a 6 month trip to build a school in Africa. He sighed as he fished a green tank top from the mess and switched it out with his black shirt. He stopped in front of his mirror and gently touched a photo of himself with Ino and Choji as kids in their old neighbourhood before hitting the light switch and heading out.

* * *

"Do you think that I'll ever find a man in this damn city?" Ino casually asked as she popped another dumpling in her mouth.

"Ino, honestly, it has to be so easy for you to get a date. Just pick a guy and ask him if he'd like to go out and buy you dinner." He kept his bored expression as he glanced around the growing crowd in the little restaurant they had picked.

"Yeah well, clearly that's going well for me. It's just so hard to meet good people now you know? Like there's tons of guys around but maybe only four of them would be dateable and then! Only maybe one of them would be worth sticking around for. If I'm lucky." Shikamaru brought his attention back to Ino, trying not to look annoyed. His expression softened when he realized Ino was actually upset about this. She was staring down at her plate pushing her last dumpling around. Shikamaru's face shifted as he came up an idea as to exactly what would cheer her up.

"Hey, wanna go out for some drinks tonight?" He knew full well that they were definitely going to get into some kind of trouble, it was almost unavoidable when they went out with Choji. Even though Choji wasn't here, Ino was usually the instigator, throwing a drink in some guys face or starting a fight with the other girls at the bar. Ino instantly lit up and a huge grin took over her face.

"Hell yes! But -" she paused knowing Shikamaru was going to complain. "- I'm going to have to change." Shikamaru's face dropped and he let out a groan. He should have known she was going to say that. He flagged down the waiter for their bills then headed out into the street to flag down a cab.

* * *

Ino was studying fashion and design at the university and also lived on residence with a roommate named Tenten. She was a really nice girl but far too innocent to be living with someone like Ino. Ino threw open the door and shouted a "Hello!" There was soft music playing from Tenten's room but the door was closed so Ino shrugged and invited Shikamaru in. He followed her into her room and sat on the edge of a stool in the corner while she began to dig through her closet. She turned back around with two short dresses, one red and one purple and looked at Shikamaru expectantly. He nodded his head to the left to indicate the purple one and she unceremoniously tossed the red one back into the closet. She turned and started to pull her shirt up and Shikamaru jumped up and threw his hands over his eyes.

"Woman! You can't do that to me!" He shouted then tried to mutter under is breath, "Fucking weirdo." He turned his body to the wall and Ino just laughed at him.

"Shika you're like a brother. I always trust you to close your eyes." He could still hear her pulling at her clothes so he stayed facing the wall, cheeks turning pink.

"You have no shame. Whoever ends up as your boyfriend is in for some serious trouble." Ino giggled and told Shikamaru that she was good now. He turned around now composed and looking bored again. "Let's go."

Ino paused at her vanity to check her hair and makeup, and decided that she wasn't wearing enough lipstick. She kicked on some heels and turned to go to see that Shikamaru was now standing with his forehead pressed against her apartment door. She laughed and told him to wait just another minute. He mumbled something about wasted time under his breath as Ino cross the apartment and banged on Tenten's door.

"Hey girl I'm going out for drinks with Shika, wanna come?" She started to turn the doorknob and Tenten burst out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Her cheeks were flushed and her usually perfect buns were slightly askew. Ino stepped back with a silent 'woah, chill' emanating from her.

"Sorry I was kinda - busy, are you going now? I can come in a bit – or I can just stay. Do you mind?" Tenten managed between breaths before starting up a little straighter and taking a deep breath. She glanced over and noticed Shikamaru still leaning, bored, with his forehead against the door.

"Hey Shikamaru, good to see you!" She smiled at his turned back. Shikamaru offered a salute in acknowledgement.

"You can meet up with us in a bit if you want. Bring your boy too, we'll be at the campus bar." Ino winked and turned to leave.

"There's no.. oh." Tenten's cheeks flushed again. She gave a curt nod and turned back into her bedroom. "See ya!" Ino chirped as Shikamaru finally dragged her out the door.

* * *

Ino was an obvious kind of beautiful with her long blonde hair, bright green eyes, and some great curves to compliment. But Shikamaru also knew how much trouble she was on a regular basis and never felt any kind of romantic spark between them. Growing up, many people had assumed they either were in a relationship or were going to be eventually, but Shikamaru had sworn to himself he would never date her as a promise to keep himself out of trouble and also because Choji had been in love with her since they were kids. Unfortunately for Choji though, Ino had made it clear that he was like a brother to her and always would be. Shikamaru had a suspicion that that was part of the reason Choji had left for Africa to 'find himself' and figure some things out. Either way Ino never let anything affect their friendships and would never treat Choji any differently.

Shikamaru let out a sigh as Ino babbled something about Tenten being in a secret relationship with some mystery guy and how it had become the hall conspiracy, despite the fact that everyone thought she was a total prude. He nodded his head as to keep her talking but something – no someone caught his attention from the corner of his eye. A very tan, curvy girl with wet sandy blonde hair piled on top of her head was walking down the adjoining hallway in nothing but a beach towel. He did a double take and they met eyes for a brief second before she turned to step into an apartment and Shikamaru walked past and into the stairway. He could have sworn he saw her stick up her chin a little higher and smirk before he had turned the corner. He also realized Ino had stopped talking and was staring at him suspiciously.

"What was that?" She asked and tried to lean back into the hall to see what he had been looking at, but the girl was already gone.

"Nothing, thought I saw someone I knew." He kept walking down the stairs and shook his head a little wondering if he really did just recognize her from somewhere. Ino shouted at him to wait and yelled about heels and sacrifices.

* * *

"Can I pretty please get two tequila shots?" Ino tried as sweetly as possible over the music and conversation, leaning further than necessary over the bar. The bartender poured her the shots and whispered something to her then winked. Ino smiled back while taking the shots and turned to Shikamaru. He rolled his eyes at her before taking the shot out of her hand and downing it without a second thought. He puckered his lips only slightly as Ino followed suit and struggled to maintain a straight face. He smirked at her effort then took another sip of his beer.

"It's amazing anyone makes any money around here with girls like you practically stealing alcohol from the bartenders." Ino chucked and shrugged in agreement as she sipped on some girly drink. They had only been at the bar for fifteen minutes or so, but the usual Saturday night crowd was filtering in and taking up the last available tables and bar stools. Even the dance floor was filling up for only being 10 o'clock. Shikamaru finished his second beer and ordered another along with a drink for Ino, which he did pay for. He turned and scanned the crowd spotting a couple of guys he knew sitting at a corner table. He let Ino know he was going to see them as she took her drink and moved in the opposite direction to greet a couple of her class mates.

"Shikamaru! Guess we really are in for a party if you're here tonight." Kiba and Naruto raised their drinks to him as he slipped into a chair. Shikamaru grinned sheepishly and shrugged. Unfortunately he had become notorious for the couple of times he had gone out drinking with the guys and had ended up in a fight. There was also one time he had strategically gotten them out of being arrested despite being completely wasted. Kiba was from a small town neighbouring his hometown so they had ended up in the same high school. Naruto had transferred in halfway through and immediately fought his way to popularity. It also helped that he was a genuinely nice guy who wanted to befriend everyone, even the staff and younger grades.

"What is this, your fifth year now Kiba? I thought you were only in a three-year program." Naruto spat out a little of his drink trying to contain himself as Kiba's mouth dropped open then closed again.

"Okay smart guy with the boss job, rub it in a little more why don't ya." Shikamaru smiled and Kiba instantly regained his confidence and smirked back. "Not all of us were born genius – some of us actually have to study and work hard."

"Yeah I guess Naruto does deserve a break, but Kiba, if you spent as much time with books as you did with girls, I'm sure you could at least finish early this year." Shikamaru sipped his beer satisfied at Kiba's obvious growing anger.

"Okay guys, let's just have some fun tonight. I don't want to hear anything about school or studying until at least noon tomorrow." Naruto finished with a palm slamming into the table to break the tension. Kiba growled under his breath and Shikamaru just shrugged with a slight smirk on his face.

* * *

Ino joined their table with a now presentable Tenten and her pink haired friend Sakura. Naruto immediately stood and pulled out the chair next to him for Sakura. She sat thanking Naruto quickly and greeted everyone. Sakura was in the nursing program so it was rare to actually see her outside of the classroom or the library, and also not in her regular scrubs. Shikamaru had tried to tell her once that nursing would be wasted on her as she had a natural talent for medicine and should have been a doctor. Sakura had just shrugged and said it's never too late.

The girls had launched into a story about a guy on their floor who was bragging that he was going to seduce all the girls in his building and had started making rounds, picking up any poor girl who hadn't been warned. Shikamaru let his gaze creep over the crowd as he scanned the room and thought about his bed and the long walk home. He was about to let out a sigh when he suddenly got a smack on the side of the head from Ino.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Shikamaru blinked at her expectantly. "You need a girlfriend."

"Or at least to get laid!" Kiba chimed in. Shikamaru shot him a glare and reached to sip his beer again only to find it empty. 'How have I already drank this much' he thought to himself as he glanced at his phone seeing it had only been half an hour. His friends moved on in conversation knowing that relationships weren't really something Shikamaru talked about, but Ino kept her focus on him.

"No." he said as Ino began to open her mouth.

"You don't even know what I was going to say." Ino pouted and crossed her arms.

"I don't need a girlfriend, I've got enough on my plate."

"But you're not even in school anymore! And a girlfriend – hell I even bet getting laid would seriously improve your mood. At the very least!" Ino cringed a little at _getting laid_ but stuck by her words. Shikamaru tsk'd her and took a moment to respond.

"It's too much trouble. **Women** are too much trouble." He stood and Ino followed suite. He went to the bar and ordered two pitchers for the table pulling cash from his wallet.

"Don't be mad Shika, I just – I really believe you'd be happy with someone." She put a hand on his shoulder and added teasingly. "And maybe a little less lazy." Shikamaru picked up the two pitchers and headed back to the table.

"I'm not lazy, I'm efficient. Never using more energy than I absolutely have to." Ino rolled her eyes but felt better that she hadn't actually ticked him off.

* * *

1AM had rolled around without anyone seeming to notice. Everyone except Naruto and Shikamaru were on the dance floor. Ino had found some poor guy to tease and dance with, only her friends knowing she was going to leave him at the bar when she left. Kiba had a tall brunette pinned in a corner and had been sucking face for the last 20 minutes. Shikamaru was feeling the effects of the alcohol and was thinking about how much everything would spin the moment he stood up to piss again. He turned to Naruto to see he was staring longingly (or just drunkenly) into his empty beer glass. He sighed and turned his head and gazed right across the floor to Sakura and Tenten, the two girls avoiding anyone else while laughing and dancing.

"She turned you down." Shikamaru didn't pose it as a question, more an observation. Naruto nodded and looked back into his empty glass.

"I just – I don't know... if I can let her go." He turned to Shikamaru glassy-eyed and quite literally shook the thought out of his head.

"Do you -" Naruto hiccupped and tried again. "Do you want to do something fun?" He turned to Shikamaru with a mischievous look in his eye. Shikamaru glanced back to the dance floor momentarily and thought about his bed briefly again. What the hell, it had been awhile since he had let loose and had gotten into some trouble. He gave Naruto a little nod with a look out the side of his eye. He finished the last of his drink and stood.

* * *

The two boys walked as quietly as they could in their drunken stupor around to the last campus building which had no lights on its backside, being at the edge of the city. The tall, narrow building hadn't been in use for years due to architectural deficiencies and fire hazards. It also happened to be the best lookout over the city if you wanted to go sight-seeing, or in this case, check out the stars. Shikamaru stood against the wall and carefully peered around the corner. He couldn't really see anything anyways but made the motion for all clear and him and Naruto took off at a dead sprint for the fire escape. Naruto got there first and jumped up, pulling the ladder down. The boys hadn't expected such a loud noise and forgot to stifle their shouts of surprise. I voice called out in the distance and the light of a flashlight could be seen approaching the corner. Shikamaru practically dragged Naruto up the ladder and pressed them both into a small space between pillars so that they wouldn't be seen by the flashlight. The security guard rounded the corner and swept his flashlight across the dark wall following the fire escape all the way to the top. He walked over and pushed the ladder back up taking a quick look towards the rooftop. Shikamaru clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth as he felt his friends body start to shake with silent laughter. The guard gave an all clear into his radio and circled back around the building. Shikamaru let out his breath after the guard was for sure out of hearing range and Naruto chuckled and then put his finger to his lips in a motioning Shikamaru to be quiet. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and then followed Naruto up the rest of the fire escape.

On the roof looking towards the city you could see the road leading straight from the University to the heart of downtown. Lights twinkled from the skyscrapers in the distance while smaller lights of cars moved lazily through the city streets. The building was only six floors up but it was the tallest on campus so the view was exceptional. The faces of the University deans were painted on the front in commemoration and also to deter the homeless from squatting as it was now considered an art piece. It was the longest standing structure on campus and because of that, no one was willing to tear it down, despite the fire hazards and all. Shikamaru only looked towards the city for a moment before crossing the roof to look towards the sprawling darkness on the other side. He rested his arms on the edge and let his head fall back to look up at the stars. Naruto walked over and sat against the ledge and put his hands behind his head. The two stayed silent for several moments before Naruto shuffled his feet in the gravel and broke the silence.

"Do you ever miss home?Well... Not the place, but the feeling?" Shikamaru contemplated Naruto's question but didn't answer sensing he had more to say.

"Life was so easy, just go to school, hang out, eat ramen, you know, the good times? But here it's so much..." He scratched his head searching for a word. "Faster... You know?" He turned his head up to Shikamaru searching his blank expression.

"They say home is where the heart is. It's just a matter of what's in your heart I guess." Shikamaru shrugged. His eyes had started to adjust and he could see the tangled mess of an unkept field and a tree-line further off in the distance.

"Huh, you really are a genius." Naruto smiled satisfied and closed his eyes, resting against the cool concrete. Shikamaru made a tsk in slight annoyance but knew Naruto meant no offence. He glanced down at his friend and saw he was starting to fall asleep.

"Okay buddy, let's get you home."

* * *

God only knows how much of a struggle it was for Shikamaru to get Naruto back down the fire escape without completely dumping him over the edge only to have to piggy back him the rest of the way to the residence building. He could also his head phone chiming in his back pocket the whole way until it eventually died mid ring. He knew it was Ino, but he definitely would not have been able to pick Naruto back up if he had put him down to check. When he finally arrived at the apartment door he gave a quiet knock, not sure if Naruto's roommate would be up. The apartment was a bit different from Ino's, instead of the two separate bedrooms, it was just an open shared room with two beds on opposite walls with desks in between. Naruto's roommate Sasuke opened the door looking disheveled from sleep and mad as hell. Shikamaru pushed a passed out Naruto into his arms while maintaining his bored composure.

"Great, thanks." Was all Sasuke said before kicking the door closed with a heel as he dragged Naruto across the carpet towards his bed. Shikamaru cringed a little at the loud bang of the door realizing he desperately needed some water. He took the staircase back down towards the front of the building wondering if there was any chance he was going to be able to find a cab. He hadn't realized his eyes were closed until he walked face first into the glass door at the bottom of the staircase. He heard a woman laughing as he realized what he had done. He pulled the door open and saw a girl with the most insane hair standing there with a gym bag over her shoulder. He touched his forehead gently but maintained eye contact, slightly confused at the recognition he felt.

"You okay there sunshine or did you hit your heat a little too hard?" She was actually mocking him, at three in the damn morning. He frowned but didn't make a move to keep walking. I guess inebriation really will be the death of me, Shikamaru thought to himself. He realized that he must have looked dumb at the fact that they were having a stare off in the lobby and he hadn't yet said a word.

"You look familiar." He frowned as she hitched her bag up higher on her shoulder and moved past him to open the door.

"Definitely not." She stated without missing a beat and kept on up the stairs. Shikamaru turned to watch the door close behind the mystery woman. He wasn't used to the bluntness she had delivered that last sentence with. As she climbed up the stairs he could have sworn she was smirking. It was then he realized she was the towel girl.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note_ : Round 2 let's go! I'm sorry if this one is a little slow – I still want to spend a little more time introducing the universe and really getting the personalities and relationships of the characters laid out. I also want enough detail for everyone to visualize things like Shikamaru's apartment and the University and so on. Let me know if it's too much or if the detail works for you. I'll post the next chapter this week if I can!

Also I wasn't sure about the rating... There's quite a bit of swearing and I'll have content on alcoholism and sex later in the story so I figure **M** would be playing it safe.

Now I think that's enough rambling from me, enjoy!

 _ **Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto or any of its characters._

* * *

Shikamaru woke up to someone banging on his door. He groaned and rolled over to the full length window his couch faced. Damn he hadn't even made it to his bed.

"SHIKAMARU YOU BETTER BE DEAD OR YOU'RE GETTING ONE HELL OF A BEATING ONCE I GET IN THERE!" _Fuck._ It was Ino. He rolled onto the floor and knocked over a half empty glass of water. At least he attempted to take care of himself. Shikamaru pulled his still dead phone out of his pocket and dropped it on the table. The banging started again as Ino heard motion from inside of the apartment. He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it onto the puddle on the floor. His hair was only half in the elastic band usually restraining it, and he knew that he probably looked like hell. He put a hand up close to his face as if to protect himself as he unlocked the door then stepped back. Without hesitation the door flew open and Ino opened her mouth to yell and immediately burst into hysterical laughter, forgetting about the beating.

"Shut up- " Shikamaru mumbled as he reached up to gather his hair and shove it back into a ponytail. "-Why are you here? Shouldn't you be studying or sewing or something?"

"I can't believe you actually locked your door! You and Naruto disappear in the middle of the night and how could you not expect me to come find you in the morning" She walked into Shikamaru's kitchen and placed a brown grocery bag on the counter. She started pulling out eggs and bacon and other breakfast food items. Shikamaru grabbed the orange juice before she could put it down on the counter and started drinking it right out of the box.

"Gross! I wanted some!" Ino protested but didn't stop unpacking the seemingly endless groceries.

"I'm going to shower." Shikamaru only paused to grab his phone as he went.

"This will be ready in 20 minutes so please don't take your time." Ino waved a whisk at him then carried on grabbing pans and utensils.

* * *

Shikamaru stood in the shower with his forehead against the tiles, not really showering but just basking in scalding hot water. He was surprised that Ino had come over as she was usually studying or doing homework on Sundays and it was his only real day of peace and quiet. Must be because Choji was gone he reminded himself. He reluctantly turned off the hot stream and got out of the shower. Mostly because he knew Ino would purposely burn down his apartment if he took too long.

After Shikamaru got some food and a full glass of water into himself he felt much better. Him and Ino were both immobilized by the mass amount of food consumed, so they were content with staring out the window watching birds and people go by in the streets down below. There was a pile of dishes to be done now and neither of them wanted to acknowledge it.

"I miss him." Ino said softly. "It's so quiet with him gone." Shikamaru looked sideways at her.

"You know he's only been gone not even a week, and he'll be back before you know it." Ino thought of Choji and his persistently optimistic attitude and sat up from her slouch, straightening her shoulders.

"You're right and he would probably tell us both to snap out of it if he could hear us." She stood up and retrieved her backpack from the entryway, making it look heavy with the way she carried it back to the couch. Shikamaru's eyebrows knitted together suspecting what was coming next.

"So do you remember that one time you promised you'd help me out with my homework?" Ino gave him a dangerous smirk and reached into her bag but kept whatever was inside hidden. Shikamaru gave her a look of horror expecting something with glitter to come flying out of it. He started to shake his head thinking of all the possible excuses to get out of this one, but he had promised her, even though he was heavily intoxicated at the time. He should have listened to his professors advice; that alcohol can be a great time, but can make fools of even the greatest men. Right now, Shikamaru was dreading being made a fool, by having to dress up or be painted in makeup, but Ino only pulled out a green binder, packed full with pages and pages of handwriting with a couple colourful pages peeking out here and there. His horror turned to interest as she carefully laid it out on the table.

"It's not part of my program, I'm trying out some psychology courses." Colour rose to her cheeks and her voice dropped. "I have a, – Someone told me I have an aptitude for it." Shikamaru reached out and opened a random page, reading an essay she must have submitted some time ago as it was marked with red pen.

"Ino this is great! Don't sell yourself short, you've always been smarter than you give yourself credit for." Ino smacked him on the head.

"I know! Don't talk down to me." She crossed her arms and sat back against the couch.

"But one question.." Ino raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru in waiting. "How the hell did you submit this in handwriting?" Ino laughed and just shrugged with an "I didn't." Shikamaru pointed at the red markings with a frown not really understanding.

"These are just my rough copies, our class TA has been really helping me out a lot. He's been..." She left the sentence hanging while shifting to hide her grin from Shikamaru. He nodded understanding but also not wanting to get into it since he knew there were only two possible outcomes of asking Ino if she liked someone. She would either launch into great detail about how amazing this person was and explain every single thing she's ever been impressed by **or** she would smack him repeatedly telling him to keep his presumptions to himself.

Ino fished out a rubric sheet from the back of the binder along with a few pages hinting the beginnings of a project. Shikamaru skimmed over the rubric and started on the written pages, pausing to offer advice and opinions as he went, Ino followed takes notes and adding her own thoughts as they went along.

* * *

Shikamaru closed the door behind Ino three hours later when he had decided that he'd helped enough and deserved some time to do nothing. He stood in the middle of his living area and looked at his kitchen to the left and the couch straight in front of him. He groaned and rubbed his temples, seeing all the dishes hanging around. He could leave them, but then the whole place would stink in a couple of hours.

It didn't take him as long as he thought but he had managed to soak himself completely after knocking a bowl full of water off the counter and had tried to catch it upside down. He mopped a hand towel across the floor and then kicked off his wet clothes before laying down on the couch in his boxers. He crossed his arms behind his head and watched the clouds drift lazily above while he could softly hear the city rushing about below. He spent most of the afternoon drifting in and out of consciousness only moving once to relieve himself. He woke up from a weird dream of voices and colours to see the sky was turning pink with the setting sun. He also realized he was pretty cold not having grabbed a blanket or anything. He frowned but only stayed still and watched the sky roll into more aggressive reds and purples until it was dark enough for the light pollution to take over and block out the stars.

He saw his laptop out of the corner of his eye and felt an urgency he had forgotten about. He really did need it for work tomorrow, and he knew there was probably someone in the IT department who could help him out, but he didn't want to spend the day sitting around in some tech room waiting for it. He picked it up and pushed on every button he could find, then tried removing the battery and putting it back in. He turned it on and a loading icon lit up on the screen. Shikamaru would have crossed his fingers, but he didn't believe in luck, so he sat for seconds that seemed to drag into minutes as he watched the spinning icon. The screen then changed to a bright _Welcome_ and proceeded to bring him to a login. Shikamaru gave himself a mental pat on the back since he didn't even get this far last time he had tried to start up the damn thing. He entered his work login and the desktop opened up smoothly. To be safe, he spent a couple of minutes clicking on random icons to make sure it was actually working.

"Tech fix is a success." He mumbled to himself, proud that he fixed it even thought it apparently just needed the battery wiggled around a bit. He left the laptop open as he paced the apartment, hungry but not hungry. Thirsty but not thirsty. He was bored, and not in a good relaxing way. He opened up his bedroom door and instantly saw the mess of clothes scattered about. He sighed admitting to himself that he was bored enough to clean up. "Guess I've got plans for tonight" he grumbled as he reached down to collect his laundry.

* * *

Monday morning Shikamaru woke up in a spotless apartment, to the screaming of his phone alarm coming from the other room. He jumped out of bed realizing he had overslept and rushed to gather his things for work. He managed to get his shit together in under ten minutes and was flagging down a taxi to take him the six blocks to work since he really couldn't justify running there this early in the morning. Thankfully he had hailed an aggressive cab driver who actually knew how to get from one place to another. They pulled up in front of the glass tower. The words **KONOHA INC** caught the early morning light in stark silver lettering above the front doors. With a minute to spare, he paid the cabbie and hurried into the building. Shikamaru stood awkwardly in the lobby for a moment not sure where to go. He had gone Thursday of last week for an interview and Friday to accept the job, sign work contracts and receive his work laptop, but he hadn't been shown around too much other than where HR was and where the conference rooms were located. He didn't even know where the bathrooms were, he thought to himself while looking straight up into the glass ceiling of the four floor atrium.

"Excuse me?!" Shikamaru snapped his head back down towards the voice. A very small woman in a little black dress smiled sweetly at him from behind the reception desk. "Are you -" She looked down at something on her desk then looked back up. "Mr. Nara?" Shikamaru strolled up to the desk masking his anxieties behind a stoic face. He nodded politely and waited for her to carry on.

"Welcome! We are very excited to have you working with us! Let me call down someone to take you around for today." She picked up the phone and only spoke a few short words before slamming it back down on the receiver causing Shikamaru to jump. "While we wait, let's get you an ID pass okay?" Shikamaru nodded as the receptionist plastered another smile on her face. She seemed a little off her rocker and it troubled him. He noticed a plaque on the right side of the counter and leaned over to read it. _Kaya Mits.._ She cleared her throat before he could read the rest of her name. She lifted a small camera attached to a cord and told him to smile. Shikamaru gave an awkward smile still processing that she had just taken his picture. Kaya began typing furiously and her phone started ringing. She answered and kept typing without missing a beat. She reached under her desk and pulled out a white card with Shikamaru's information and picture on it. He frowned at the picture and Kaya pointed to his left. He turned and saw someone he recognized in passing from when he was here last week.

"Nara! Good to see you back." The man offered a hand. Shikamaru shook it and nodded with a small smile.

"It's good to be back." Shikamaru was led to an elevator just around the curve of the lobby. He thought he might know this guy's name but couldn't remember it for the life of him.

"I've heard some great expectations for you, apparently you're a genius! Top of your class, graduated early. Even maintaining an above average percentage only doing the minimum required work. That's pretty impressive!" Shikamaru inwardly scolded himself, that shouldn't have been something for his employers to know. He shrugged modestly and watched the floor counter tick upwards as they rose.

"Not sure if I introduced myself last time we met. My name is Kankuro and we're going to be.. not just coworkers, but more so partners." Kankuro shot Shikamaru a genuine smile. Shikamaru smiled back.

"Sounds good."

* * *

The two men exited the elevator on the top floor and stepped out into a world of white walls, chrome accents and leather furniture. It looked more like a penthouse than an office. Although it was definitely fitting for a CEO. The building was rounded across the front creating a fisheye illusion looking out across the cityscape. Shikamaru revelled in the view for a moment before letting Kankuro lead him around to a glass office with a dark-haired man sitting inside. Shikamaru slowed down a bit in confusion. This was definitely the CEO, he had seen him in countless business magazines before, and had read about him while researching the company before applying. He shot a sideways look at Kankuro to see if he was sensing any of his nervousness, but he kept walking with a small smile on his face, clearly content and oblivious to his surroundings. He raised a fist to knock but the C.E.O. just raised a hand to wave him in, clearly able to have seen them approaching.

"Good morning Sir." He bowed deeply, a very cultural representation of respect that Shikamaru had not seen much of in the current city they resided in. Shikamaru followed suit and bowed. He stayed perfectly still letting the man in front of him intimidate him with the coldest calculating stare he'd ever encountered. Kankuro cleared his throat snapping Shikamaru back to reality.

"You must be whoever everyone has been buzzing about this past week." His voice was as cold as his stare, with a hint of amusement.

"Perhaps. I am Shikamaru Nara. Thank you for bringing me on with your company. I hope I will be an invaluable asset." Shikamaru kept a plain expression on his face even though his heart was racing. _What the hell is going on._

"I'm sure you will be." The C.E.O. paused and leaned back comfortably in his chair. "Kankuro, please show the man to his office." Kankuro bowed again having been dismissed and moved to lead Shikamaru out of the glass encasement and back towards the elevator. Shikamaru turned on the spot and followed mechanically feeling eyes burning into the back of his head as he left.

"Do you introduce everyone to incite fear on the first day?" Shikamaru asked once the elevator doors had closed behind him. Kankuro laughed loudly and shook his head.

"Great idea, but no, he requested specifically to meet you this morning before you had arrived. Probably saw your resume and was curious to the man behind the brains." Shikamaru scowled at the words.

"You know the resume could have been total BS and I could be a complete idiot just here on guts." Shikamaru pouted slightly now knowing the bar had been set higher than expected, which meant there wasn't any room to slack off. Kankuro stepped forward as the doors opened and replied over his shoulder. "If that's the case, then you've got guts kid."

* * *

They had only descended a couple of floors but the layout had changed drastically. The theme still seemed to be white and chrome, but now was divided with fogged glass walls into conference rooms with open office spaces in between. Kankuro walked him around pointing out the washroom as they passed and eventually stopped in front of a corner office with solid walls and a sliding glass door. Kankuro slid the door open and gestured at Shikamaru to enter.

"It's a little more private than the other offices even though the view isn't as good." Kankuro shrugged and moved to sit down at the closest of two desks, both facing outwards to the ground far below. Shikamaru set his laptop bag down on his desk and sat down in his seat, bouncing a bit to test it out. He muttered a "Nice" looking out between other buildings. They were on the 15th of a 17 story building, which also happened to be the second highest in the city. Apparently there was a height restriction set back in the 1920's that no one had bothered to lift since there wasn't much need to build anything higher. Shikamaru started up his laptop and found a plug to keep it running before getting back into his seat and turning to Kankuro

"So what am I doing today?" Shikamaru asked over his shoulder. Kankuro laughed realizing he hadn't given him any work.

"I'm going to forward you half my emails and you're going to help me respond. It's mostly editing and scheduling work for now but I promise it'll pick up in a couple of weeks. The true test will come once we start attending conferences with the big boss." Kankuro spun his chair around to face Shikamaru. "Wanna get a coffee?" Shikamaru stood up with a grin. "Yes please."

"By big boss, do you mean..?" Shikamaru motioned upwards with a tilt of the chin. Kankuro shook his head.

"We might literally be high up but we're still working under a long series of people at the moment." Kankuro took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "But I have heard that there are big plans for you, if you exceed expectations." Shikamaru frowned into his coffee cup having chugged half of it as soon as it was made. He gulped the rest of it in one mouthful, nearly choking on it, and then placed his cup back under the machine. He wasn't going to make two trips if he didn't have to.

* * *

Shikamaru went through his emails quickly and some were more interesting than he had expected. They contained everything from editing one paragraph introductory speeches to, to event scheduling to what seemed to be classified information about current affairs within the company. Shikamaru came across an particularly interesting one that contained business strategies. He wasn't supposed to add on per say, but more so just see if there were any obvious flaws that could be dealt with before being passed on to someone who would approve and execute them. This one in particular, he really didn't agree with. So he sat with his hands in his lap making an O shape for several minutes deep in thought before turning to Kankuro.

"Hey, can I make a suggestion?" Kankuro's jaw twitched in acknowledgement as he finished typing his sentence then pushed off, rolling his chair over. He swung around and leaned forward to read Shikamaru's screen. His eyes widened as he read the email and realized what it was.

"I actually didn't mean to send you this one, sorry man thats my fault." He saw Shikamaru's expression from the corner of his eye and noticed his look of indignation. "What?"

"Just hear me out.." Shikamaru then launched into why the plan was not only seriously flawed but had a very good chance of turning out to be a waste of time and resources. As he started into his own idea of how to make a long-term investment profitable and beneficial to both parties, when Kankuro cut him off with a "WAIT!" and pushed back to his computer and opened a word document. He gave Shikamaru the nod to go on and typed furiously to keep up.

An hour later, the two men had put together a proposal and were ready to send it off. Kankuro hovered nervously over the send button on his email while Shikamaru stood behind him waiting.

"Is this okay? I mean it really is my first day. Maybe we should just put your name on it." Kankuro took his hand off the mouse and looked over his shoulder at Shikamaru.

"Not a chance! If anything we shouldn't have put my name on it at all, you did all the work."

"Yeah but you wrote it, and edited it, and made it presentable.." Shikamaru moved to his corner and sat back down in his chair only to immediately get up and pace back to Kankuro's desk. "Just send it already, I'm going crazy!" Kankuro took a breath and hit send. It was dead silent in their little corner office before the confirmation ping went off signifying that the email was sent. No chairs scraping were heard upstairs, the phone on the office wall didn't ring and the door also did not come crashing down. Shikamaru didn't know what he expected, but he did expect something. Kankuro just sighed and told him they'd probably find out tomorrow or in a couple of days if they were in trouble for letting the 'newbie' overwrite the proposal or not.

* * *

The day carried out with the answering of emails, a lunch, and a several coffee breaks where Kankuro would show Shikamaru some cool gadget in the media wing. There was a seemingly never-ending stream of coffee. Shikamaru switched to decaf after lunch realizing his whole body had started vibrating and he could no longer type without feeling like he was smashing the small keys on his laptop. Soon it was late afternoon and Shikamaru was sending off an email when he felt Kankuro's hand on his shoulder.

"We're finally free my man!" Shikamaru glanced at the time and realized it was already 5pm. He packed up his laptop stood to see Kankuro waiting for him at the door. The two walked together while Kankuro made idle conversation until they reached the front steps outside. Light gleamed off the glass front sending light in patterns onto the buildings across the street.

"Well I'll see you in the morning! Shoot me a text if you need anything." He handed Shikamaru his business card and pointed at his cell. "Hey, Nara, you did good today." Kankuro gave him a thumbs up then turned and jogged to catch the light to cross the street. Shikamaru pocketed the card and smiled to himself thinking he had unintentionally made a friend. He walked the four blocks to his apartment with his hands in his pockets and his head in the clouds, thinking of his friends at school and especially Choji. He would have loved to go out for a drink with Choji and just listen to him talk about whatever and make him laugh, but Choji wasn't there so he'd have to settle for dinner and a drink alone. He took the elevator up to his apartment, dropped off his laptop and changed into some street clothes.

* * *

Because of where the apartment was, Shikamaru didn't need to go far to find some take-out. His favourite diner was just around the corner and next to it was a dive bar he had frequented with Choji for the past year. Choji had been living in the apartment next to him so they had spent almost all their time together with Ino joining them when she could. Choji had insisted on living with Shikamaru to make sure he 'didn't go crazy living alone', even though Shikamaru had been counting down the days until he didn't need to share a place with someone. Truthfully Shikamaru was grateful for the company, realizing how grateful he was now that that company was gone. When the lease was up for renewal, Choji opted out and signed to go away. Shikamaru was proud of him, but missed him already. He knew Ino felt the same.

Shikamaru let his thoughts take him to a burger dive, where the smell had lured him there more than conscious decision. His stomach rumbled and he thought of Ino telling him off for not treating his body better since his metabolism was going to eventually give up on him. He let out a sigh but chose hunger over subconscious Ino, and joined the line to order.

Lights lit up the view from the apartment as Shikamaru lay on his couch with some random talk show playing on his laptop. Naruto had been texting him earlier, trying to make plans for everyone to get together sometime before the weekend. Apparently he was hosting a guys night on Wednesday but Shikamaru wasn't so sure his roommate was going to be too thrilled about it. He also had made Naruto promise not to let him drink too much or anything at all since he did have to work the next day. Shikamaru sat up and pulled his hair out of its ponytail, rubbing the stress from his scalp. He sighed and closed his laptop leaving nothing but the lights of the city and the startling quiet of being alone. He tapped a finger on his leg unsure of the feeling of sadness resonating in him. He'd been alone before, but why did it feel so significant now? He went to bed with thoughts of his friends and the people he didn't see anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: So I almost died of sickness last week – please forgive my late update. Honestly this chapter was a struggle because I'm trying to provide backstory. Can I just make you guys a handbook instead?Anyways I hope you enjoy this one!

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters._

* * *

Shikamaru reached for his phone as he heard a ping resonate from his pocket. When he had gotten home from work he had taken his sweet time to shower and change before messing around on the internet for a solid half hour. Only then he remembered he was supposed to be at the university for guys night. He had left his phone on silent as he hadn't bothered to switch the volume back on. There were several messages from Naruto reminding him that he wasn't allowed to skip out. Now he was just exiting his cab and walking through campus to the residence building. He could have asked the cab to take him the extra minute but he liked the familiar sounds of student life; it sounded like home to him. He smiled at the thought, thinking of a drunk Naruto. As he was about to walk up to residence his phone began to ring.

"Where are yo.."

"I'm outside, buzz me in." He hung up before Kiba could start shouting anything else through the phone. He heard the door buzz and pulled it open, entering the dimly lit lobby. It was more of just a waiting area for the constantly broken elevator. It had a leather sofa pushed up against the far right wall with the elevator doors opposite the entrance. To the left was a glass door to the stairway that went up to the dorms and another door beyond that led to the laundry room. Shikamaru pushed into the stairway and walked up the first flight then down the hallway to stop at Naruto's door. He could hear the muffled shouts of his friends and the tv playing in the background. He pushed open the door and only Naruto turned to greet him.

"Shikamaru! Nice of you to show up only- " he looked down at his watch then back up again "-45 minutes late." He slapped a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and pulled him into the apartment. Shikamaru shrugged and scratched his head. "No worries buddy, the party is just starting!" Naruto took a spot next to Sasuke and reached for a ball to take a shot at the make-shift beer pong table that had been set up with the desks.

"Shikamaru! Long time no see!" Shikamaru saw a dark-haired figure pop out from under the desk with a ping pong ball in hand.

"Lee, I forgot you switched over, good to see you." Lee jumped up and pulled Shikamaru into a bear hug.

"I have chosen to finish my last year with friends so I can hope to graduate with familiar faces!" Lee beamed as he stepped back from the embrace. "Of course only if Kiba can maintain a passing grade in his math courses this semester." Naruto and Shikamaru chuckled at the jab.

"Hey! Uncalled for Lee." Kiba pouted but tossed the ping pong straight into the last cup on the other end of the table. Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead as Sasuke fished out the ball then downed the drink inside the cup in a couple of gulps.

"Shikamaru, come play a round with me?" Naruto asked as Sasuke took a seat and turned his focus to the baseball game on their small tv. Shikamaru cracked his knuckles and shrugged. One game couldn't hurt.

Shikamaru had underestimated Kiba's skills and had also forgotten how useless Naruto was once he had a couple of drinks in him. Lee's toss made a splash as it sank into the closest of two cups remaining. Shikamaru scooped out the ping pong and dropped it in the water cup. _What a drag_ He thought as he lifted the rim to his mouth and tried to take a gulp. He choked and managed to swallow the mouthful he had before turning to Sasuke.

"What the hell is this? It tastes like gasoline." Sasuke smirked and spoke for the first time since Shikamaru had arrived.

"It's European moonshine my brother sent from overseas. It's not that bad." Sasuke shot him a sideways glance.

"It's awful. Thanks for the drink, I guess." Shikamaru frowned and tried not to breathe through his nose as he tossed the rest of the drink into the back of his mouth. He shuddered trying to keep a straight face as it burned down his esophagus. He looked across the table and saw that there was only two cups left and also that neither Kiba or Lee were paying attention to him at the moment. He palmed both ping pong balls and tossed one midair while bouncing the other one off the table, if he sank both, he'd win and also not have to drink another cup of gasoline from Sasuke. At the sound of the ping pong bouncing on the table Kiba whipped his head back to the game. His face went from interest to horror and he stepped in a little too slow to bat the ping pong away. The sound was followed by both balls dropping into separate cups.

"No fair, that's not in the rules!" Kiba pouted as he fished out the ping pong from his cup. Lee plucked his out and immediately chugged the remaining liquid.

"This game has rules?" Lee pulled a mickey out of his back pocket and filled up the cup with a dark golden liquid before taking another gulp of it. Shikamaru tried to ignore this but had a nagging feeling that there was something about Lee and drinking he needed to remember.

"Of course it does! I have a book. Let me.." Kiba started rifling through his backpack spilling out an assortment of crumpled assignments and dog treats.

"Kiba, you can beat me next time." Shikamaru abandoned the last red cup for a bottle of beer instead. He grabbed one of the computer chairs and swung it around to face the centre of the room before sitting down. "Don't any of you have class tomorrow morning?" A _NO_ resonated in response. Shikamaru grumbled about getting a real job and checked his phone, it was still relatively early in regards to how much sleep he needed to function tomorrow.

* * *

The guys spent most of the evening reminiscing and making the occasional playful jab at one another. Even Naruto had Sasuke laughing at one his memories of them duking it out in their hometown playground as kids. Shikamaru would often forget that the two had been best friends all through grade school with some epic falling out during high school when Naruto had to make the switch. They never shared the full story but Naruto had suffered at the loss of his best friend and only really beat his depression when they had reunited and called a truce during second year of university. Shikamaru didn't fully trust Sasuke knowing how miserable Naruto had really been, maybe in a way the others didn't, but if everyone else could let it go, then so could he.

Shikamaru placed his second beer, empty, down on the desk next to him. Lee took a the last swig out of the mickey he had been trying to conceal from everyone before quietly twisting the cap back on and standing up. Shikamaru suddenly remembered, and he knew that there was going to be trouble.

"We need fresh air! The heat is stifling and I could go for a run!" Lee jogged on the spot with a big grin on his face. Kiba stood up and stretched his back with his arms to the sky.

"Yeah I could go for some air, let's go." Kiba offered a hand to help Shikamaru up. He took it begrudgingly, his eyebrows knitted together as he stood and followed suite. Lee was definitely going to get them in some kind of trouble. Naruto stood and Sasuke made a face that said _No Thanks._ Naruto grabbed him by the bicep and forced him to his feet. "No way, you gotta come this time." Sasuke rolled his eyes and mumbled a whatever. He shoved his hands into his pockets and filed out the door with everyone else. As soon as the lock clicked Lee began shouting.

"It's a race! Ready? GO!" He took off at a dead sprint and Kiba immediately took off after him screaming "I WASN'T READY!" Naruto laughed and started running after the two, into the stairway and downwards. Shikamaru sighed and walked beside Sasuke at his usual lazy pace. Once they had quietly exited the building they saw Lee doing push ups on the lawn while Kiba was lying on his back next to him still going off about the fairness of things. Shikamaru and Sasuke joined Naruto, standing watch.

"Lee, lead the way." Lee snapped to attention at Naruto's voice. He saluted him and took a firm grasp on Kiba's arm, dragging him along as they led the way to the heart of campus. The five of them walked in the warm September air, watching the lights turn on around campus as the sun had finally dipped beyond the horizon. There was still quite a lot of people milling about, walking through or hanging out on benches and in groups. It was nice to see the students out before it got too cold.

"Shikamaru?" His ear twitched at the familiar voice. As he stopped and turned around to face Ino, the others grouped in to say hello. "You didn't tell me you were on campus!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly. Shikamaru tsk'd.

"I have other friends you know, and you didn't text me at all today so I figured you were busy." Ino dismissed him with a wave and greeted everyone with hugs. Sasuke looking particularly uncomfortable as he didn't move to hug her back and she held onto him for an extra couple of seconds. She scowled at his reaction before pulling a shy Tenten into the circle from behind her.

"You guys all remember Tenten right?" Tenten gave a big smile and raised a hand in a timid wave.

"Of course we remember!" Kiba winked at Tenten then leaned to whisper in Ino's ear. "She's cute, is she single?" Ino grabbed his wrist and swung it behind his back pinning it uncomfortable making Kiba yelp.

"Stay away from this one, he's an absolute dog." Tenten chuckled and blushed.

"I had so much fun last time we all went out, we should all play a sport or something together this weekend." The guys nodded in agreement and started talking about getting together some pickup soccer and maybe football. Shikamaru noticed Lee's awed expression as he stared at Tenten.

"You might want to close your mouth before you start drooling." Shikamaru said under his breath. Lee snapped his jaw shut and looked up to Shikamaru standing next to him with clouded eyes. Shikamaru wondered if he had gotten taller or if Lee's drunkenness was slowly bringing him to his knees.

"I have never seen such a beautiful woman in all my young life!" He reached up and grabbed Shikamaru's shoulders. "Shikamaru! What do I do to get her number!" Shikamaru was leaning back, trying to preserve a little of his personal space.

"Don't be all weird man, just ask her."

"Just. Ask. Her?" Lee seemed to process the words slowly, it was almost possible to see the wheels turning. The two had been pushed out of the circle and the girls were saying goodbye.

"See ya Shika!" Ino called and waved, with Tenten offering a salute before they turned to walk away. Shikamaru waved and then put a had in the middle of Lee's back, pushing him forward.

"That's your chance." Ino was hugging Tenten and then they took off in opposite directions. Lee chased after the latter. Kiba slung an arm around Shikamaru and sighed. Naruto watched Lee run while Sasuke texted from his phone. They all watched as Lee made a show of asking Tenten for her number while also trying to explain her beauty. He must have done an alright job because she laughed and reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. Kiba gave a whoop and clapped while Naruto laughed and raised a thumbs up to Lee. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile. Tenten took her phone back and the two parted. Lee only took three steps before someone placed a firm hand on the shoulder and turned him around. A guy with ridiculously long hair spun him around and asked if he was trying to pickup his girlfriend before throwing a punch that landed square in Lee's face. "Oh shit." Was all Shikamaru could say - realizing that the _'secret boyfriend'_ was actually a real person, not just a rumour. Everyone made a move to help, but Lee bounced back unfazed and held up a hand signalling them to let him take care of it. He stood with his eyes locked on his attacker and a trickle of blood running from his nose.

"Nice punch, but I bet you can't hit me again. Neji." Lee gave the guy a smirk and gave him the _come and get me_ motion with his fingers. The guys reacted at the name and recognition that came from Lee. Neji went for a second swing, and Lee immediately side stepped it and punched his shoulder, making him more angry. The fight seemed to be mostly Neji throwing fast punches and missing while trying to block Lee's wild kicks. Lee jumped back and up onto a bench.

"SEVERE LEAF HURRICANE" He did some crazy backflip move and tried to slam his leg down on his opponent. Kiba pulled at his hair whispering a string of profanities to himself. Shikamaru chuckled and crossed his arms. Naruto eyed him asking what was so funny.

"Lee's such a weird guy, but he always makes for an interesting night." Naruto nodded in agreement and started laughing. "Are you feeling at home yet?" Naruto wiped at his eye and responded

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Jesus Christ guys, are you just going to stand around or are we going to help him!" Kiba was on his toes ready to go, just waiting for the go-ahead.

"Calm down. Lee is handling this without us." Kiba looked more pissed that Sasuke had been the one to respond, but he eased up a bit realizing that Lee wasn't actually taking any hits.

"Tenten! If I defeat Neji, will you go on a date with me?!" Lee called out between dodging hits. Tenten though, was rifling through her bag, looking pissed. She eventually pulled out an umbrella and extended it without opening it up and ran towards the two fighting men. She jumped in between them and swung the makeshift weapon, chopping Lee in the shins and Neji in the gut, effectively dropping them both to the ground.

"NEJI YOU ASSHOLE! You swore me into some- some ridiculous secret relationship, just to dump me AND THEN you- you have the audacity to call me your GIRLFRIEND?!" Neji looked up at her from his crouch and started trying to form a sentence but was cut off before he found the words. "Don't call me. I don't want to see you anymore." She shoved the umbrella closed and picked up her bag from the ground before approaching a shocked Lee. "Pick me up at 7 tomorrow, at the main building." She brushed a stand of hair out of her face then turned and marched off. The group and several passerby's stopped in stunned silence absorbing what just happened before shifting into action. Naruto put forward a hand for Lee to grasp. Lee got to his feet clumsily and let out a giggle before bursting into hiccups.

"I *hic* I got a date!" Lee beamed and did a little dance on the spot still hiccupping.

"Oh my god he's wasted." Kiba slapped a palm against his forehead. Shikamaru and Naruto burst out laughing at Lee's bashful expression. Behind the group Neji got to his feet and walked away before anyone could notice him leaving.

"Neji sounds familiar doesn't it." Naruto asked openly.

"He was in the year ahead with me, actually we were lab partners." Kiba and Naruto raised eyebrows at Lee while Shikamaru thought back.

"He had a cousin in our year. Actually if I remember correctly, he got suspended once for starting a fight with her over some family stuff."

"I remember that! What an asshole." Kiba scratched his head trying to bring faces to mind.

"He's actually a really nice guy, or at least he used to be." Lee stopped and looked back to the spot they had been walking away from."I wonder what happened to him."

* * *

When they got back to residence Shikamaru decided that he'd had enough for the night and was going to head home. As everyone waved him off he pulled out his phone and sent Ino a text telling her to ask Naruto about their night. She immediately responded - **TenTen mssgd me – am on it**. Shikamaru found a grassy spot at the end of the parking lot and opened up an app on his phone to call a cab. He had ten minutes to kill so he leaned back onto the grass to watch the stars peek in and out from behind passing clouds. He heard a car pull up and a door open and close. Footsteps approached and then stopped next to him. Shikamaru couldn't help but turn to see who had stopped, and why since it was relatively quiet on this end of campus.

"Oh good, you're not dead." The voice was sultry and sarcastic. All he could see was crazy blonde hair and the figure of a woman. Shikamaru lay there with his head turned trying to see detail in the darkness but easily gave up and turned back to the sky. The footsteps came towards him this time till a shadow blocked his view. "What are you doing anyways? The grass is pretty damp to be lying in." Shikamaru grumbled and sat up. With the light in the distance he recognized her face.

"Oh it's you." He glanced at his phone and saw he still had six minutes to wait. He felt the presence still standing over him and looked back up. "What?" She put a hand on her hip and sighed.

"You're always on my floor and I know you don't live here. Curiosity you know."

" _Your_ floor? And curiosity killed the cat you know."

"Yeah but satisfaction brought it back." She winked at him then pointed at the ground beside him. "Do you mind?" Shikamaru scooted over and inch to indicate there was room. She sat down and crossed her legs, placing her gym bag on the ground next to her. They sat quietly for a few moments before she spoke again. "I'm the RA for 3rd floor." Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement but wasn't sure how to respond. He was slightly angled towards her but not close enough to reach her. He could see even in the dark that she had a spark in her eyes and a wicked smirk that was probably glued to her face. Admittedly she was really attractive, despite the fact he had only seen her in proper lighting while completely intoxicated. He couldn't help but admit he was curious about her and also wary from the predatory gaze she had him trapped in.

"Nara, Shikamaru. I studied business and economics while I was here." He stuck his hand out for her. She chuckled as she grabbed it with a death grip and shook.

"Temari. International Business." Shikamaru frowned at the lack of a last name but didn't ask for it. She glanced at her digital watch and then stood grabbing her bag. "It was nice to meet you _Shikamaru_ ," She put emphasis on his name, like she was tasting it on her tongue. "I'll see you around." She gave him a little wave and started to walk away. Shikamaru couldn't help but watch her hips sway as headlights pulled into the lot. She had a great figure he thought to himself with a smirk then stood up to catch his cab.

* * *

Thursday whipped by with the same answering and editing emails and files without any word back about the proposal they had sent out. On Friday, Kankuro was getting antsy and kept saying _something should have happened by now_. Shikamaru tried not to think about it too much and kept at his work. He discovered Kankuro had a really 'interesting' taste in music and exclusively listened through his bluetooth speaker as it had _optimal sound_ quality. Shikamaru invested in noise cancelling headphones that usually played soft piano or nature sounds. Him and Kankuro had started going out to a deli bar across the street and agreed to make it part of their routine. At about 4:30 PM an email pinged on both laptops at the same time. Kankuro opened it first and then immediately spun his chair around and ripped Shikamaru's headphones off his head.

"Dude! It happened, look!" He brought up his email full screen and pushed his laptop to the end of the desk so Shikamaru could was a mandatory staff meeting in regards to the proposal they had scrapped and rewritten. It also was written with a sense of urgency that made Shikamaru's heart pick up with a mix of fear and excitement. He opened his email and saw he had the same email too, which meant it was mandatory for both of them to go. He kept a cool demeanour and even tone when he spoke to Kankuro next.

"No matter what they ask, we wrote this together okay. There's none of that _it was your idea_ bullshit. We're in this together." Shikamaru paused and maintained eye contact with Kankuro to make sure he would actually promise. "Deal?" He put his hand forward and waited. Kankuro sighed and did a little spin in his chair before taking Shikamaru's hand and shaking it.

"Deal. But you should know these guys are in the big leagues, and can be pretty scary." Shikamaru smirked at the comment thinking of something his dad always used to say.

"The trick is to be the smartest person in the room? You got me man, just let me do the talking."

"There's the genius! I knew you were hiding him somewhere!"Kankuro laughed then closed his laptop. "C'mon let's head out a little early. We should do something to celebrate."

"What are we celebrating? Our anarchy?" Kankuro just shrugged and gave a little nod that said 'I guess'. Shikamaru wasn't going to go against him, he was happy to hangout before getting to slack off all weekend. They left the building and found a pub only a block away. A waitress came immediately to take their order of an appetizer and a couple beers. They relaxed on a mostly empty patio while Shikamaru watched people hurry past meeting friends and leaving work for the weekend. He was thinking about how complex the lives were here and how few people he actually knew in the city. A face popped into mind, shrouded with shadows but still clearly smirking and dangerous.

"Earth to Nara, you okay bud?" Shikamaru snapped back at Kankuro's voice.

"Yeah, sorry was just thinking about... stuff." _More like thinking about trouble._ He thought to himself.

"It's cool. I just was asking if you live alone or if you have any roommates?" Kankuro eyed the waitress as she approached and placed two beers on the table promising to return with food soon. Shikamaru sipped his beer and leaned back in his chair before responding.

"I've got my own place a couple blocks away, not much in it though. I kind of had a roommate/neighbour, but he's out of country at the moment so I'm by myself now." Kankuro swallowed half his beer in one big gulp then slammed it down on the table.

"That's not too bad. I've got a bachelor but my walls are so thin I might as well be living with six other people. My brother might get a place with me next year, but he's..." Kankuro trailed off clearly choosing his next words. "He's working for our dad oversea's, even though I'm sure he'd much rather be here." Shikamaru nodded and wondered about his brother but didn't want to pry. "How about you, any siblings? Or family here for that matter?"

"No siblings, just my mom and dad back home in The Leaf." Kankuro didn't ask so he must have understood. The town that Shikamaru and all his friends had grown up in was usually referred as the leaf because it was in the middle of a protected forest, also it had a famous dojo named The Leaf that specialized in several different martial arts.

"If you're from the leaf, you must do martial arts then."

"Yeah I did Judo as a kid, but it's been years since I've even thought about it." Shikamaru smiled at the memory. His mother would wake him up at the crack of dawn to go train and he would pretend to be asleep all the way until he was -sometimes- quite literally thrown into the dojo. He hated it but loved it and never had the motivation to continue after he turned 16 and realized he actually needed passing grades. "Have you ever been to there? Seen the famous dojo?"

"I've seen it but my sister is the one who's into that stuff, dragged us around once and awhile." He shrugged and drank more of his beer. Shikamaru mentally noted two siblings and a dad.

"Are you the youngest then?"

"Nah I'm the middle child, which turned out to be a good thing. I got away with everything and never had to put up with much fuss." He smirked and raised his glass. "Cheers to that!" Shikamaru tapped his glass and drank. The waitress showed up with their food and left again saying she was bringing more beer. "Guess there's no choice Shikamaru." Kankuro looked at him with a wicked grin, testing him. "We'll just have to keep drinking."

Two hours and many beers later the two stumbled out the pub with a very happy waitress waving them off with her fat tip. The sun was reflecting back and forth between glass buildings lighting sections of sidewalk in warm pools of light. Shikamaru and Kankuro decided to head deeper into the city and hit up a couple more pubs as it was only 7o'clock. Shikamaru felt uncomfortable getting drunk in shady pubs while wearing a suit, but Kankuro had an effortless confidence to him that seemed to rub off on Shikamaru the more they drank together. In the third bar Kankuro was belligerently drunk and working on his third beer of the bar. He motioned for Shikamaru to check out a very pretty girl with long dark hair sitting at the bar alone. Shikamaru turned back to him trying to make words but his lips weren't moving the way he wanted them to so he just ended up stuttering gibberish before Kankuro stood up and adjusted his collar.

"You- ur gonna hav to call a cab." He cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back. "Wash and learn Shhikamaaru." He did a little spin before walking over to the bar as smoothly as possible for his current state. Shikamaru tried to stifle a laugh wondering how the hell Kankuro was going to pick up a chick when he could barely speak english. Shikamaru tried to drink from an empty cup before disappointingly placing it back down on the table. He looked back over to Kankuro and saw that the girl he was talking to was leaning in to him and smiling. Kankuro leaned forward and whispered something to her and she turned and finished her drink in one motion and stood up. Shikamaru was impressed, he really didn't think he could... **SLAP**. The sound resonated through the bar and Kankuro stumbled and feel into the bar only catching himself on one of the stools. Shikamaru saw the bartender, who was much bigger than both of them combined, toss his rag down on the counter and make his way around. Shikamaru pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket and dashed to Kankuro. He lifted him up and slung an arm around his shoulder. The bartender was almost on them now. Shikamaru slammed the wad of bills down on the bar and shouted all in one word "Thanksforthedrinks!" before hauling Kankuro's ass out of there. Kankuro was laughing as Shikamaru dragged him down the street. They turned a corner and both slumped against the wall breathless and dizzy. Then Shikamaru burst out laughing, making Kankuro start up even harder than before. The two of them really became friends in that moment, under a streetlight, drunk and keeling over with laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note: I feel like story is moving pretty slow, but I also feel like it's necessary. Let me know how you feel. Either way I'm laughing at my own jokes and that's what's really important. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

* * *

Saturday morning came with a hangover like you wouldn't believe. Shikamaru was face down on his bed in boxers and an unbuttoned dress shirt. He tried to lift his head from the puddle of drool he was lying in only to feel an invisible sledgehammer slam down on the top of his skull. With a groan he forced his shoulders to relax and worked on wiggling his toes and making his way up his body. Just to make sure everything was still functioning. Ten minutes of twitching and heavy breathing enabled him to grab a cold pillow and press it against his forehead. It took him another minute to roll himself to the edge of the bed and slide off so he was sitting on the carpet. Now fully awake he gagged at the scent of alcohol that he hoped was coming from him and not vomit somewhere. He couldn't remember getting home last night and he was nervous to check the rest of his apartment and especially his phone. He set the thought aside and crawled into his bathroom. Sitting on the cold tile helped to ease the nausea, but he knew he needed a miracle if he planned on recovering today. He didn't even bother to remove his clothes as he dumped himself into the tub and turned the shower on, freezing cold. After several minutes and drinking whatever water he could catch in his mouth, he finally gained the courage to stand and turn the tap hot.

Getting out of the shower he discovered a rather large bruise on his hip leading down his thigh. He carefully wrapped a towel around his waist and wiped the fog off the mirror. He looked like hell, even with a shower to clean off the night. He pulled on pj bottoms and cracked his bedroom door open. The sky was grey and rain tapped softly against his window, but it was still bright enough to trigger the sledgehammer headache back into full throttle. Shikamaru gripped the door frame and forced himself to open his eyes and look around the room. Everything looked relatively untouched except for something bright red on the counter. Curiosity and thirst made for good motivation. Shikamaru crossed the threshold and immediately went for water and Advil. The red thing turned out to be a lacy bra, and a particularly large one at that. It was dismissed for a moment to self medicate. He forced himself to drink three glasses of water before attending to the alien item. He lifted the bra with a fork and gave it a look of despair. _What the fuck. What. The. Fuck._ He suddenly realized that if there was clothing, then there might be someone else in his apartment. He had to walk to the end of the kitchen to see over the side of the couch and was relieved to see no one was sleeping there. He sighed in relief and tossed the bra into his garbage can, not wanting to think about it just yet. He stood leaning against his counter with the back of his hand cooling his forehead. _Kankuro._ His phone caught the reflection of the window, catching Shikamaru's attention and forcing him to move again. He sank into his couch and picked it up only to find it dead. Luckily his cord was plugged into the wall and within reach. While it charged, Shikamaru dozed off curled up in the corner of his couch.

He woke up feeling a little less disoriented and calmed by the sound of rain still falling at its persistent pace. Watching the drops make patterns down his window he let his mind wander before deciding it was time to figure out what had happened the last night. He unplugged his phone and turned it on. The sense of dread settled in his stomach before he the screen even loaded. The lock screen finally appeared and instantly his phone rang out three notification pings. One from Ino and two from a random number. According to his phone log, he had spoken to Ino for 26 minutes and 53 seconds at 3:20AM and she had texting him a good morning sunshine with a winky face. Shikamaru frowned, but Ino he could trust and get a full story from. The random number must have been whoever the bra came from because it read **Hey cutie, had fun last nite**. The next text from them added **Next time u can take my panties too ;)**. They were sent just a little after 1am and he hadn't replied so that was a good sign. He checked his camera roll next and almost dropped his phone out of sheer embarrassment at the only picture from the night. It was a selfie taken by a much older woman kissing Shikamaru's cheek while he smiled, eyes closed. The red bra was in hand, held up for the camera. Upon a second look he broke into laughter at a shirtless Kankuro in the background with his purple tie around his forehead. He was also holding up both hands; flipping off the bar. He shot Kankuro a text and was surprised to get one back right away.

 **S-** Hey man, you ok?

I wish I was dead, but yeah. HBU **-K**

 **S-** Thought I was dead for awhile there

LMAO! Dude you were crazy last night! **-K**

 **S-** Yeah? I don't remember..

No shit! You did a line of shots - it was impressive **-K**

Don't worry I missed out on the end of the night too **-K**

But I'll fill you in monday **-K**

 **S-** Shit I haven't decided if I want to know yet

Oh it's a good one don't worry **-K**

TTYL gotta go vomit again **-K**

Next was Ino, but his head was still killing him. He got up and grabbed the blanket off the bed and an ice pack before returning to the couch and settling in for what he expected to be a very long phone call.

"Well, well, look who's still breathing." Her voice dripped with sarcasm knowing he probably felt like death.

"That bad huh?"

"Actually it was mostly gibberish. You talked about your new best friend taking you on a _magical adventure_." She unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. "How much trouble do you think you're in right now?"

"None...?" He paused and waited but she didn't say anything. "No what happened, you can't leave me hanging! Ino!"

"Oh calm down. You were going on about your friend Kankeroo?"

"Kankuro."

"Yeah that one. Anyways. You were telling me that you were having such a good time, having so much fun. You said you hit like 6 or 7 bars? Jesus that's a lot - even for you." Shikamaru scowled at her obvious jab at his _drinking problem._ "Then you mentioned Choji and started bawling. Anything after that was mostly gibberish."

"Oh." Shikamaru paused to process. "That's not too bad, I'm just glad I called you and not Kiba or Naruto by accident."

"Thanks for that." He could hear Ino roll her eyes in that sentence.

"If that's it I can breathe easy again."

"Yup. One question though..." Ino paused purposely, "Why are you flirting with my RA?" Shikamaru audibly sucked in his breath trying to think faster than his brain was currently allowing.

"Not flirting. She just introduced herself."

"Uh huh, that's definitely why you were going on about THAT ASS!" Ino burst into laughter causing Shikamaru to hold the phone at arm's length. His gut churned from the hangover combined with pure embarrassment. This situation was beyond fixing.

"Shut up. You don't speak a word of that."

"My lips are sealed, it's our little secret!" With that Shikamaru hung up the phone and turned it on silent to avoid any further embarrassment. The image of Temari sauntering away from him popped into mind and he groaned loudly at his empty apartment. _Troublesome woman._

The rest of the day was spent laying on the couch with Netflix playing softly and Shikamaru drinking as much water as possible while forcing stale bread into his stomach. Upon waking up from his third nap, he finally decided he was well enough to move around and check his phone again. He had a single text from Ino letting him know he was an asshole – probably for hanging up on her – and a missed call from Naruto. He hit the call button to see what was up.

"Hey Shikamaru, what's up?"

"Recovery day. Sorry I missed your call earlier."

"Yeah! We're getting together for dodgeball tonight, Kiba scored the gym spot for us at 10. Are you recovered enough to join?" Shikamaru glanced at his spot on the couch and figured he had enough sleep to make it to midnight.

"Yeah sure, why not." He looked at the clock on his stove seeing it was just after 7. "I'll be there in 30."

"Sweet, and um, tell Ino to come. Lee is bringing Tenten after their date."

"No problem. You should ask Sakura then." Shikamaru could hear Naruto pacing wherever he was.

"Uh, huh. I'll do that." They said their goodbyes and Shikamaru wondered about the awkward tone at the mention of Sakura. Regardless of her turning Naruto down, they had been friends for years. He let it slide and focused on finding a hair elastic since the one from yesterday had disappeared.

* * *

Shikamaru stood under the awning of the McDonald's he had just exited, holding a bag of disgustingly satisfying food that he would consume as soon as he got a cab. He bent down to roll up his cargo pants in attempt to save them from the puddles collecting in the street, the hot food trapped between his lap and his stomach, warming him comfortably. He flipped on the hood of his sweater and stepped out to wave down an approaching taxi.

Once they arrived at campus, Shikamaru asked to be let out in his usual spot in the circle at the front entrance. He gave his driver a good tip since they had been chatting and he had mentioned his family had just moved here as refugees, escaping a war in his home country. Shikamaru wished him well and stepped out into the rain and listened to the cab pull away before making his way slowly to residence. It was oddly warm out considering, so he let the rain mist in his hair and eyelashes, taking in the still green surroundings. _Fall is coming, maybe I can find a good spot to hangout and watch the leaves change before the snow comes_. His thoughts were disrupted abruptly as two girls ran past him and into the residence building screaming and laughing. Neither one of them held the door and Shikamaru really couldn't find it in him to run to catch it. He buzzed Naruto first and waited for the door to click, when he didn't hear anything after a minute he buzzed Ino instead and she shouted **What?!** Through the intercom immediately. Shikamaru stepped back and looked at the speaker wondering if there was even a microphone. "Hello?" He spoke to the machine. He scratched his head when no response came and instead was surprised to see Ino bouncing down the stairs half-dressed to greet Shikamaru at the door.

"Hey stranger! You feeling alright?" She pulled him into the entry and pressed the back of her hand onto his head. "No fever but you look like hell. Want a drink?" She smiled wickedly at him and made her way into the stairs.

"God no, I need a week at least." He scratched his chin and changed his mind. "Two days at least."

"Ooh tough guy. I'm glad you're alive though, when you called you didn't know where you were and just kept laughing when I asked."

"Let's just not talk about it. I'm alive and well so there's no need to bring it up." He started to follow Ino up the stairs and stopped to avert his eyes. "Jeez woman could you put on some pants?!"

"THESE ARE SHORTS PERVERT. Not my fault my ass is too good for them." She continued to bounce up the steps before turning and walking up backwards. "Speaking off..."

" **NO.** You promised!" Shikamaru followed her up with his eyes still on the ground, not wanting to see the look she was probably giving him. He realized they had reached the third floor and finally met her eye. She had her hands on her hips and was smirking at him.

"Okay but-"

"No buts."

"BUT only if you admit you have a crush." Shikamaru dropped his head into his hands and groaned. _Why do I do this to myself. Where is Choji when I need him._ Ino was blocking his way so he couldn't even get by into the hallway.

"I don't even know the woman, and you can't crush on someone you don't know." Shikamaru could see the gears grinding in Ino's head. He knew she couldn't stand when he _Logic'd_ her (as she called it), but he also knew she wouldn't argue if she thought he was actually getting ticked off. She clicked her tongue and pulled open the door to let Shikamaru walk through.

"Fine, but – as a warning for future reference – people are terrified of her for a reason you know."

"Of course they are" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath. Ino had a look of satisfaction on her face as they entered her dorm room. Shikamaru shrugged off his wet sweater and hung it on a hook behind the door before dropping onto the hard couch that was standard for all 2 bedroom dorm rooms.

"Oh yeah, wanna play dodgeball at 10?" Ino poked her head out from her open bedroom door with a _huh?_ "Dodgeball. 10 o'clock."

"Oh yeah I told Kiba hours ago I was in. Sakura and Tenten are coming too. Speaking of which..." Ino went into the story of how Tenten had come home and told her about Lee fighting Neji and how cute they both were. Shikamaru let her go on in her own detailed version of the story without reminding her he was actually there. She sat on the floor across the room and they tossed a tennis ball back and forth while they talked. It was something they had done since they were kids, with Choji refusing to join as he claimed to like watching them instead. Shikamaru suspected he must have had terrible aim and didn't want to take an eye out. They caught up on school life and work life before agreeing that they should head out to look for Naruto or Kiba. As soon as they stood up both their phones pinged.

 **N- Meet up at gym in 10**

Ino quickly changed into a matching blue shorts and tank top set with a pink satin hoodie. Shikamaru looked down at his own clothes and realized everything he was wearing came from a shopping trip he'd done with Ino last year. Ino smirked at him realizing this as well before kneeling to lace up what looked like brand new Adidas sneakers.

"Were playing dodgeball, not going out you know.."

"Well you never know who's going to be there!" Ino stood up and swung open her door. "You look pretty inappropriately dressed for dodgeball too, so you really can't judge me." She locked her door and led them down the stairway and out the building. Outside the rain had settled into a fine mist, but it was still enough to send Ino into a jog towards the main building. Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets and kept a quick walking pace, letting the mist cool his hot forehead. He was still feeling a little weak from his hangover, but at least he had gotten away without puking. As he reached the building, Ino stood holding the door open and footsteps could be heard splashing through puddles as Lee and Tenten ran in past Shikamaru and into the hallway. They thanked Ino and continued down the hall towards the gym holding hands.

"Their date must have gone well." Ino pointed at their locked fingers as Tenten leaned into Lee laughing at something he had said. Shikamaru felt proud of his friend for finally getting a girl but he couldn't help but notice the bitterness in Ino's voice.

"Hey what about the TA who's been helping you out? Anything going on there?" Apparently this was the wrong thing to say to Ino cause she stopped mid stride with a blood rushing to her cheeks and a vein angrily popping out on her forehead.

"We are not talking about him." Shikamaru put his hands up in surrender and let her walk past and lead him the rest of the way to the gym in silence.

Naruto and Kiba were at the gym doors doing a head count to see if they had enough people to get a game started. Shikamaru knew a handful of people there but there were quite a few who must have been classmates or people passing by who had been invited to join in. Even Sasuke had made an appearance, leaning against the wall looking moody as usual.

"We're just waiting on Sakura, and whatever friends she's bringing." Naruto was forcing everyone into the middle of the gym and giving them numbers so even and odd numbers could be split. Kiba was shouting that Sakura was coming and rallied her plus two girls and a guy into the gym closing the door behind him. Shikamaru only glanced at the last few people who had walked in but immediately did a double take when he noticed four blonde ponytails and a smirk staring him down. She waited till she had caught his eye before turning her attention away and not giving him any other acknowledgement. Ino shoved an elbow in his side and raised her eyebrows excitedly at the interaction. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets moving to join the other odd numbers on one half of the gym. He checked his team out and had ended up with Naruto, Sasuke, Tenten, Ino and several others he didn't recognize. He picked out Sakura, Kiba, Lee and Temari on the other side. Both teams had about 11 people so it should be a good game he thought. A guy he didn't recognize finished lining up the last ball on the centre line then stepped back out of the way.

"Red lines are boundaries. No head shots. If your ball is caught you're out. If you catch a ball, bring a player back in. Last man standing wins for his _or her_ team. Ready?" Everyone stood perfectly still on the balls of their feet ready to run. The whistle blew and immediately the gym filled with a roar of stomping feet and people shouting. Shikamaru stayed near the back and stood behind someone hoping to avoid getting hit right off the bat. He wasn't sure how well he would hold up but he definitely was feeling the competition and didn't want to lose. Tenten whipped a ball at Lee who jumped into what looked like perfect splits in the air to avoid the ball.

"So unnecessary." Ino stepped past Shikamaru to pick up a stray ball rolling on the ground. She ran as close as she dared to the line and threw a pretty good shot at Sakura, but apparently not quick enough because she caught it and stuck her tongue out at her. Ino ducked to avoid someone else's wild throw and stormed off to join the small line forming out of bounds. Naruto and Shikamaru both unintentionally screamed as Sakura whipped the ball with ungodly force towards them. They both dived out of the way leaving an unsuspecting Sasuke to be pegged in the stomach. He was hit so hard his feet actually left the ground before his whole body crumpled to the floor. Sakura covered her mouth with a hand realizing who she'd hit.

"I am _never_ pissing her off." Naruto watched Sasuke crawl off the court then jumped back into the game. Shikamaru managed to avoid getting hit while only throwing a ball here and there, making sure it was low enough to avoid being caught. The teams dwindled down to only a couple of players on each side. Naruto and Kiba both threw their balls at the same time and managed to smoke each other in the nuts. Which left Temari and Shikamaru to face off alone on the court. Shikamaru was holding a ball in front of him, hoping to defend himself as he had seen her take out someone pretty viciously earlier. She had a ball at her feet and another in her hand ready to go.

"Are you just gonna stand there or are you at least going to try." She carefully took a step forward and Shikamaru mimicked her unintentionally.

"I'm not that worried, you throw like a girl." Temari's expression twisted angrily.

"Don't insult me, I'll kick your ass!"

"I'd like to see you try." He moved forward again, hoping that her anger would impede her aim and thought process.

"Watch me!" She whipped the ball as hard as she could right at his head and picked the other one up off the ground. Shikamaru just barely dodged surprised at her accuracy and power. _Maybe this was a bad idea._ Both teams were going crazy on the sidelines, cheering and shouting at them to get a move on. Shikamaru threw his ball low and let her dodge it. She threw her last ball and Shikamaru had planned on catching it but she had low-balled it. He jumped over it and then chased it since the others had rolled to her side. He picked it up and had to immediately use it to bounce an incoming ball away. Temari stood now with four of six dodgeballs and Shikamaru was already a little out of breath from the attack. He cursed himself for the McDonald's earlier and raised his ball, ready to throw. Temari did the same, still angry at his earlier jab. Shikamaru thought about the fact that he would have to work his ass off if he actually wanted to win since she did have an advantage of having the balls ready to throw. He sighed and lowered his arm.

"I give up." Temari whipped her ball anyway and pegged him in the shoulder. Her half of the gym erupted into cheers as they ran back onto the court. Shikamaru's team took the court again complaining about Shikamaru not putting up a fight. Ino came over and gave him a light punch in the shoulder that had just been hit. "Ow, what the hell." Ino just winked at him, clearly thinking it was part of some strategy to win Temari over or something. Shikamaru settled into the back again letting the second round start. He couldn't help but see angry eyes staring him down from across the court.

The next four games Shikamaru made sure he wasn't the last man standing since he didn't feel like pissing off his team again. He did have to admit that moving around and breaking a sweat was quickly killing his hangover and he was starting to feel like himself again. His team won two of five games but the last round was brutal, with everyone getting smoked by Sakura who decided she no longer needed to hold back. Her team had figured she had the best throw so they were protecting her and letting her just pick people off one by one. After they finished everyone filed outside with the majority heading back to residence. It had stopped raining so their regular group had hung around making jokes and chatting. Shikamaru felt someone tug at his arm. He turned and was surprised to see Temari motioning for him to talk to her. He rubbed his arms in the cool air and stepped off to the side where she was standing.

"What the hell was that? You don't think I'm worth the fight or something?" She had her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her boobs up in her tank top and momentarily distracting Shikamaru. He forced himself not to look and cleared his throat to check himself.

"It's nothing personal. You had a clear advantage and I feel like shit." Shikamaru shrugged and put his hands in his pockets out of habit. He did take a moment to really look at her since he had not yet seen her up close in any kind of light. She had blue-green eyes that held a look of curiosity and carefully maintained pride. Her hair was more sandy blonde with bangs that framed her eyes and cheekbones. The colour also seemed to compliment her evenly tanned skin. Her lower lip protruded slightly in a pout as she took in his response.

"That's a sorry excuse and you know it. If you're not going to try don't bother joining in."

"It's not like it was a competition, it was just a pickup game of dodgeball. Jeez." Shikamaru was ready to turn away, not wanting to get picked on anymore.

"Everything's a competition if you're good enough." She smirked and relaxed her posture sensing Shikamaru was about to leave.

"That's.." He shook his head searching for words "Well. I guess." She gave him a real smile this time.

"We should do this again sometime."

"What, dodgeball?" She laughed at him and started to walk away.

"I'll see you around Shikamaru." He didn't respond but watched her leave. _She's walking like that on purpose_ _._

"Damn, she really does have a nice ass." Shikamaru jumped at Ino's voice so close to his ear. "You're a total pervert you know." She chuckled and winked at him.

"Shut up, I was just- No. Nevermind." He looked back to where Temari had been and saw her entering the residence building in the distance.

"Why don't you just ask her out? I mean you're clearly interested." Sakura was now adding in to the already awkward conversation. Ino nodded in agreement.

"No, she's far too troublesome for a simple guy like me." Ino rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. It was Sakura who chimed in though.

"Well if you _are_ interested, just make sure you don't miss you chance." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but didn't push for an explanation. He just sighed and followed the group as they headed out. He walked at the back behind Ino and Sakura and couldn't help but let his mind drift to Temari. What was it about her that had him so.. captivated. He admitted she was incredibly hot, but it wasn't that. Something about the curve of her mouth when she spoke his name and the look in her eyes when he had pissed her off. She was terrifying, yet completely enticing. Shikamaru was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the drop in the walkway and stumbled forward crashing into Sakura. He reached out to catch himself and took both of them down onto the wet sidewalk.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Sakura immediately sat up and punched Shikamaru in the shoulder where he had been tagged earlier. Shikamaru choked back tears while Ino could only laugh at him. Shikamaru cursed himself and muttered under his breath _troublesome woman._


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note: Has it actually been a couple weeks? I'm so sorry! I've been getting ready for a fight so I've been putting in extra hours at the gym and my writing has suffered for it. Also if you haven't played spotlight, then you're missing out for sure. It was one of my favourite games as a kid and would still jump at any chance to play today! We used to be hardcore and wear all black and play at the campground woods in the dead of night. Shoot me a dm about your best games of spotlight if you've got one! Anyways here's chapter 5, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

* * *

After dodgeball, Ino, Sakura and Kiba had corralled everyone into the residence commons to play cards against humanity. Some of the boys had flasks hidden and they were passed around the table as the night went on. Shikamaru gagged at the strong smell of vodka as the flask came around to him. He shook his head and leaned as far back in his chair as he could as Ino passed the flask on to Kiba on the other side of him. As his friends grew more and more intoxicated and the game seemingly became more hilarious with nobody really caring what they put down anymore, Shikamaru felt truly happy to be surrounded by so many of his friends. The problem was Choji was missing and his absence was like a cold presence standing too close. He was staring intensely at his cards before Ino broke him from his reverie.

"Shika, you gotta pick a black card." She placed a hand gently on his arm and smiled at him sweetly, cheeks flushed slightly pink. He nodded and picked a card from the deck and read it out loud. Immediately cards came flying at him from all around the table. Laughter and howls filled the room as he read off each one and decided a winner based on which card had gotten the loudest reaction. Sakura gave a sinister grin as she snatched the black card from Shikamaru as she had won another round. Naruto gaped at her as she added it to her growing pile of winning cards. Shikamaru excused himself and walked to the cafe that only had ten minutes left to open before it closed at midnight. He made himself a coffee and bought a pack of cookies to go with. He figured it would be awhile before he was going to sleep anyways so he might as well try and keep up. He rejoined the table to a very confused Lee reading out cards and asking quite loudly _What's Bukakke?_ His question was met with laughter and a very red-faced Tenten trying to sink down into her seat next to him. It didn't take long to finish the game after that. Sasuke left as soon as the game finished, mumbling something about homework and Sakura left shortly after.

"Hey Shikamaru, do you remember spotlight?" Ino was being quite loud and was glowing from the alcohol.

"Isn't that just tag with a flashlight?" Shikamaru actually remembered the game quite fondly.

"Yeah! We used to play all the time as kids!" Ino beamed back at him.

"Hey I remember that! I have a flashlight in my room if you guys want to play!" Naruto jumped up excitedly. Tenten explained the premise of the game to Lee excitedly while Shikamaru and Kiba collected the cards and made their way back to residence, following Naruto. At the entryway Naruto stopped everyone and told them he wanted to go alone since Sasuke might be sleeping or studying and would be extra pissed off if they all came in making noise. Shikamaru stood with Ino, Kiba, Lee, and Tenten and let their casual banter fill the warm night air. Their presence and good mood was rubbing off on him, killing the last lingering hints of his hangover and it was about time too. The door behind him opened and he turned to see Naruto emerging, flashlight in hand and a pinched look on his face.

"You okay Naruto?" The group shifted their attention to Naruto as Shikamaru called to him.

"Yeah I'm fine, let's play some spotlight!" His expression lifted, erasing any hints of the look Shikamaru had seen. He walked slowly behind the group, following them to the now empty fountain that took residence in the centre of campus. He heard the door open once again from residence and turned to see if someone was looking to join their game. He caught the eye of Temari as she zipped up her black sweater as the door slowly closed behind her.

"Did you want to play spotlight?" She raised an eyebrow and shoved her hands in her pockets and took the three steps to close the distance between them.

"Spotlight.. Isn't that a child's game?" She scoffed and blew the longer strands of her bangs out of her vision. Shikamaru scratched his chin and shrugged then turned around to rejoin his friends.

"Wait! I – I'd like to join in, if the invite's still open." He glanced over his shoulder and shrugged again.

"Doesn't bother me. Just hurry up and get in here." He kept walking as she matched his pace a couple strides behind and joined the group huddled in a circle next to the fountain. Naruto and Kiba marked out boundaries with the faces of buildings and it was agreed by everyone that you would have to touch the fountain to make it 'home-free'. Everyone put in a number of fingers and Ino counted down from 21 until Kiba was chosen to be 'It' for the first round. He sat on the edge of the fountain and buried his face in his hands with only little complaint before beginning a count down from a hundred. Everyone sprinted in opposite directions, even Shikamaru took off at a steady pace looking for a place to hide.

"Ready or not here I come!" Shikamaru quieted his breathing from his perch in his tree as Kiba shouted out his intent to search. He saw the light sweep over the area and flash shadows between the leaves of the branches he had rested himself between. He had planned on waiting it out until Kiba had decided to search the opposite end of the fountain before making a run for home base. He wished he had a cigarette to pass time as Kiba started to make his way towards the tree line he was hiding in. It wasn't that Shikamaru hadn't necessarily smoked before, but it was something Ino was strongly against and he only got away with when he was either on his own or with Choji under sworn secrecy. He only ever craved one after a bad hangover or just a particularly bad day. The light flashed briefly as it swept the area slowly again before he heard rustling at the base of his hiding place. He remained quiet, unsure if Kiba had decided to take a closer look. He heard heavy breathing and leaves jostling quietly as someone made their way up his tree. Shikamaru held his breath knowing for sure that it wasn't Kiba, but also not knowing who was trying to steal his spot. He felt a warm presence emerge between his legs and awfully close to his chest. The glint of light eyes glowed in the darkness in front of him and he decided he ought to make himself known.

"Seriously, you had to pick my tree?" The person gasped and reached out in surprise cupping their hand around the side of his head and grasping his ponytail, probably in a weak attempt to hit him. He leaned in and knocked his forehead against the newcomers.

"Ow dammit, stay still!" The hushed voice was recognizably feminine.

"Temari?" It went quiet and still for a moment with only the retreating footsteps echoing and the flashlight lighting up the distant walkway.

"Nara. Of course you're in the damn tree." Her voice was annoyed but she still held her hand out, letting it slide to the top of his shoulder, gripping him to steady herself. He leaned into the sound of her trying to squint in the darkness. He made out the shape of her as she remained perfectly still watching Kiba leave. She was so close that he could feel her breath like a gentle breeze against the base of his neck. He swallowed away the thought and followed her line of sight to a retreating Kiba.

"If you're ready to run, we can make it once he passes the residence building." Her voice was even more sultry than usual as she whispered and it sent chills through Shikamaru's spine. Something about her picked the edges of his memory in a way that sent his stomach in nervous knots and left a pressing weight on his mind. He reached up and covered the hand she had gripping his shoulder with his own. She sucked in a breath but otherwise hid her reaction.

"Temari. Do I...?" He paused and looked into the slight glint of light he could see reflected in her eyes. She was staring right back at him with the same defiant expression as always. "I swear I know you from somewhere."

"Whatever loser. Do you want to win this damn game or not?" She slipped her hand back and dropped from the tree before Shikamaru could answer. He followed her instinctually and dropped into a low crouch behind the trunk where she was watching Kiba walk further and further away. Shikamaru opened his mouth to ask again what he'd been dying to ask but she slapped a hand over his mouth and pressed a finger to her lips, now that he could see her more clearly in the lights emanating from the nearby building. She lifted up three fingers and slowly put them down one after the other. As she dropped her last finger they both took off at full sprint towards the fountain that was less than 50 meters away. The flashlight swung back around in their direction as they made a dive for the fountain. Shikamaru tagged the base first with Temari a close second as they called out their names in unison declaring they had won this round. Shikamaru collapsed on the ground a laughed a little. Temari sank down next to him and caught his eye with a huge grin on her face. She stifled a laugh before Shikamaru broke out into laughter again and she joined in, the two of them barely holding back tears as they laughed into the dim light that surrounded them.

Blonde hair caught the light as Naruto made a sprint for the fountain. Kiba's light shined on him as his name was shouted out from the distance. Naruto stopped mid sprint with a look of despair and Ino came crashing in from the opposite direction while Kiba was distracted. Lee and Tenten had made a dash shortly after Temari and Shikamaru had claimed victory and Kiba now passed the flashlight to Naruto for a second round.

"We'll play till one then call it a night, sound good?" Everyone nodded in agreement with Naruto and got ready to hide again as he started counting.

* * *

1AM came and passed before anyone noticed the time. Shikamaru felt himself getting drowsy as he waited for another round to end, not having been caught the whole game to be 'it'.

"I'm so ready for bed." Shikamaru yawned into the night. Naruto was lying on the ledge next to him tracing fingers into the collecting dirt inside the empty fountain. Shikamaru stared at the half overcast sky, searching for stars peeking through.

"Shikamaru, would you stay up with me for a bit?" Shikamaru nodded but Naruto's attention remained on the patterns he had traced beneath him. Temari and Kiba came racing in from opposite directions as Lee swung his flashlight around at the sudden footsteps.

"KIBA! and.. AND? INO?!" Temari slapped her hand on the fountain and turned to Lee with a grin.

"Temari. Sorry to disappoint you Lee." She pulled one of her four ponytails tighter and sat down with a sigh of content.

"That's not fair! He doesn't know your name!" Kiba was outraged at being caught for the fifth time. He sat down hard on the cold ground in front of everyone and shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie.

"Not my fault he didn't ask for it before the game started." Temari wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and crossed her legs nonchalantly. "Isn't this the last round anyways? I've got rounds to do in half an hour." Ino called her name from the opposite side of the fountain and walked around to see the others waiting. As she did Lee gave her a shrug and turned his attention to a quivering bush just at the edge of the residence building. Tenten jumped out and pounced on Lee, knowing his flashlight out of hand and making a dash for the fountain. She managed to make it safely before Lee recuperated and tried to tag her.

"Okay that's it let's go to bed." Ino stood up and brushed herself off. "Shikamaru, you can crash on my couch if you want." Shikamaru gave her smirk and a nod in acknowledgement before turning to Naruto.

"I'll be there in a bit, leave the door unlocked for me." Every one began to part ways, with Lee and Tenten whispering and holding hands as they took the lead.

"See you around Nara." Temari gave him a little wave and a smile before heading to residence with the others. Shikamaru and Naruto were soon left alone on the fountain in the cooling night air.

"So... what's up?" Shikamaru waited as Naruto shifted awkwardly in the following silence, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sakura was with Sasuke when I went back to get the flashlight." Shikamaru frowned unsure how to follow up on that.

"Well are you sure.. it could have just looked like.."

"I'm not an idiot! They were clearly making out or something and I interrupted. I – I panicked! I grabbed the flashlight and left as fast as I could, and may have also slammed the door.." Shikamaru dropped his head from the sky and waited for Naruto to calm down a bit.

"It's definitely a surprise but you're wasting your time and you know it." Naruto gasped and shot his head towards the man speaking to him. "She already shot you down and you can't expect her to change her mind at this point. What's the point of torturing yourself? I mean, there's definitely other, cuter girls that.." Shikamaru stopped as he saw tears streaming silently down Naruto's face.

"Yeah I know, but could you just be a little more sensitive, just for once." Shikamaru stood and grabbed Naruto's shoulder firmly.

"It's gonna be okay." Naruto sniffled and grabbed Shikamaru in a full hug and cried quietly for a few minutes. Shikamaru awkwardly patted his back and tried not to move in fear of upsetting Naruto any more. He let Naruto spill his heartbroken thoughts before he eventually grew quiet and they both sat side by side on the pavement outside of residence. Naruto shivered then stood up, stretching a hand out for Shikamaru.

"Okay, I'm good now." Shikamaru took his hand and let himself be pulled up. They walked up the first flight of stairs and Shikamaru held open the first floor door for Naruto before continuing up to the third. He went to Ino's door and twisted the knob. It was locked. He banged on the door not sure if anyone would still be awake, or if Tenten was home since he knew that if Ino was asleep she wouldn't be waking up. After several moments there was still no answer. He pulled out his phone and cursed at the gods for his phone being only at 2%. He pressed the call for Ino but immediately got her voicemail. He backed out of the call log and opened up his messenger only to have his phone die as it loaded. He jammed it into his pocket in frustration and banged on the door again waiting for a couple moments before sinking to the floor with his back against the door. He closed his eyes and gently knocked his head against the door in a slow rhythm, unsure if he should find a way to call a cab or not. The hallway was eerily quiet for a Saturday night, with only the distant sounds of partygoers emanating from the floor above. Shikamaru began to hum to himself, an old 90's song his dad used to always turn up whenever it played on the radio. The melody drifted back to him from the end of the hallway and he opened one eye to glance at the source. Bronzed legs in a long pyjama shirt rounded the corner and Shikamaru had to force his eyes to her face.

"Her pervert, you locked out?" Temari pulled on the door next to Ino's, ensuring it was locked before kicking Shikamaru out of the way with one of her legs to check Ino's.

"Pervert? Seriously." Shikamaru grumbled and folded his legs up to his chest.

"I've caught you looking a couple times now, so yeah. Pervert is fitting." She continued to the end of the hall, checking the other two doors before stopping at the corner. "Are you coming or what?" Shikamaru frowned but still got to his feet and followed her around the corner.

"You could just let me in you know. You do have a key right?" Temari tsk'd and continued checking the doors.

"That would be violating the residence code of conduct! I can't let a strange man into a random girls' apartment. Do you have any idea how much paperwork _I_ would have to fill out?!" She punched him playfully on the arm as she rounded the last turn.

"Yeesh, I get it, I'll just call a cab." Temari stopped in the hallway in front of Shikamaru and yawned with a stretch, making her already short pyjama shirt ride up to reveal the slightest hint of her blue underwear. Shikamaru blushed and reached for his phone and immediately groaned in frustration remembering it was dead. "Do you have a charger I could borrow by chance?" Temari turned around and reached for his phone. She studying the port and shook her head.

"Sorry but I don't have one for that kind of phone." Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead and started to make his way back towards Ino's room. "Besides, the cabs won't come out this far after 1am. Hey, where are you going?"

"Well Ino is the only friend I have here with enough room for me to stay so I'm just going to bang on the door till she lets me in." Temari frowned and unlocked the door to her room.

"You can stay here. It's not – I have the extra room." Temari shot Shikamaru a challenging look as he gaged his options.

"And that's not awkward at all? I mean we hardly know each other but if you.."

"You pervert I have an extra room." Temari's face was fully coloured now as she continued to hold the door open. "Take it or I'll let you sleep in the damn hallway." Shikamaru contemplated the option but had a feeling that if he refused her, she would hold it against him, and he was interested in her. He stepped into the dorm room, an exact mirror of Ino's apartment, as Temari gently closed the door behind him and locked it.

"You can take the room on the left. The bed is made but no one lives here besides me." Shikamaru traced a hand over the exact same couch Ino had before turning his attention to the left door. The room was bare save for a painting mounted on the wall above the couch. It was an abstract piece of whites, blues and greys with a hint of silver. It made him feel lonely and he had to force his eyes away from it.

"Thank you, you don't have to house me if you don't want to."

"Shut up and go to bed." She walked into her own room and slammed the door behind her, leaving Shikamaru alone. He entered the empty room and found that Temari had not been lying. The room was immaculate and looked like it had recently been evacuated save for the dark green bedsheets that remained on the bed. Shikamaru cracked the window open before stripping to his boxers and climbing into bed. The sounds of crickets and distant laughter chased him into sleep as he tried not to think about being in a strange girl's apartment.

* * *

Sunlight gathered in a warm pool across Shikamaru's chest and woke him up to golden light filling the unfamiliar room. He lay still for a moment watching dust particles dance in the slight breeze before remembering where he was. The heat eventually grew uncomfortable as the sun rose higher, forcing him to kick off the blankets and get up. He could hear movement coming from the common area. He made the bed before pulling his khaki's back on and opened the door to Temari in her pyjamas eating toast on the floor with her laptop on the coffee table in front of her.

"Good morning sunshine." She grabbed toast out of the small toaster she had plugged into the wall and set it on a plate before pushing it towards him. She pointed at the jam before refocusing on the show playing on her laptop. Shikamaru sat across the table from her and reached for the jam.

"Are you watching Anime?" He took a bite out of his makeshift breakfast and tried not to cringe at the overpowering sweetness of the strawberry jam. Temari shrugged and took the last bite of her toast.

"You got a problem with that?" She turned to him and raised an eyebrow menacingly. Shikamaru raised both hands in submission. "That's what I thought. Besides, if you tell anyone. I'd have to kill you." Shikamaru mumbled nonsense to himself and tried to figure out what she was watching. Something about high schoolers confessing their love. He ate in silence while she finished her episode of cheesy anime. Once it finished she closed the laptop and turned to him with a piercing look. "So, Shikamaru, let's figure out how you know me." Shikamaru choked on the last crumbs of toast and reached for the coffee mug that rested on the table, desperate for a drink. He took a swig of the coffee and almost spat it out at how ridiculously sweet it was. He forced himself to swallow then pushed the mug back to her. "What, you against sugar or something?"

"Too. Much." He tried to compose himself and gently snapped his hair tie against his wrist, remembering that his hair was not currently in its usual ponytail. Suddenly self-conscious, he reached up pushed it back out of his face. "I swear you look familiar, but then again, I am from a small town so anyone passing through would be considerably memorable if they were to have the kind of hairstyle you do."

"Hey! What's wrong with my hair jackass!" Temari reached up to touch her ponytails protectively.

"Nothing! It's just.. unique?"

"Whatever. Anyways you're from The Leaf right? I competed there a couple times for Judo as a kid. So you might recognize me from there."

"Judo?" Shikamaru's eye's widened as he recalled a certain blonde haired girl dominating a tournament at ten years old, traumatizing the other kids in her category. "You were the hurricane!?" Shikamaru pointed at her in horror.

"My legend precedes me." She delicately sipped on her coffee before eyeing it suspiciously and placing it back down on the table. "It's funny I remember not being invited back after that because no one wanted to go up against me and my father was very against me competing against boys."

"You're a legend by the way. I can't believe I forgot about that, and I can't believe I didn't recognize you either."

"Yeah well a lot can change in twelve years." Shikamaru stared at her not wanted to say anything to ruin the moment of her genuinely smiling. She had been scowling every time he had seen her and he was now witnessing her really smile for the second time. "What are you staring at perv."

"Listen I am not a pervert! I just thought… Never mind." Shikamaru reached up to put his hair in a ponytail to hide his blush. No way was this girl going to get under his skin, no matter how pretty and how distracting she was. He knew she was trouble simply by the fact that she could take words away from him before he knew he had lost them. She gulped down the last of her coffee and slammed the mug on the table.

"Do you still do Judo? I mean, assuming you even did." Shikamaru thought back to competing in the boys division a year under her and also having won gold that year.

"I haven't since I left home so I'd be a bit rusty."

"I heard you were the best, undefeated in fact." Shikamaru frowned at her knowledge of his stats, wondering how long she had known who he was. "If you want to practice some time, I could throw you around a bit. You know, get you back in shape." Shikamaru frowned and looked down at his bare chest. He had admittedly gotten quite skinny with his bad eating habits and lack of exercise.

"Okay, but where are we going to train?" Temari jumped up and dashed into her room, letting the door shut behind her. Shikamaru sat quietly for a moment before the door blasted open again. Temari emerged in gym shorts and a tank top with her bag over her shoulder.

"Get dressed, I'll show you."


	6. Chapter 6

Authors note: Just a quick tidbit. I personally do not do Judo, so I spent some time watching youtube videos and having someone demonstrate a couple techniques on me. So if you are a Judo person reading this, I'm sorry for the inconsistencies if there are any. Also I'm writing from a generalized location that I grew up near since it's always best to write what you know.

If anyone wants a side chapter from another character's perspective, I can add in a short chapter or do a separate one shot if enough people are curious about the background noise. Let me know eh?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

* * *

Shikamaru found himself sitting on a bus in second day clothes next to a very fidgety Temari. He resisted the urge to place his hand over her twitching fingers despite how inappropriate it would be. He watched the greenery whirl past as the bus made the short trip between the University and the city. There was a stretch of forest that kept the illusion of seclusion between city and campus, and it was often under constant legal scrutiny for who could buy and build there. It remained protected by some wildlife preservation who continued to fight tooth and nail to leave it untouched. Temari woke him from his thoughts as she pressed into him accidentally while reaching for the bell to indicate their stop. Shikamaru smoothed a hand over his hair pretending not to have noticed the interaction. She jabbed him in the side with a finger and stood up as the bus came to a halt. Shikamaru followed her off the bus and found themselves standing before an old glass front building. A weathered sign read the word DOJO in faded letters above the main entrance. The sun was already beating down on them steadily causing sweat to bead at their temples and the base of their necks. It was awfully hot for early morning mid-September. Temari skipped excitedly towards the front door and pulled it open, motioning for Shikamaru to follow her. Inside was a deserted front desk that separated them from a full room of mats lining the floor. There were heavy bags hanging from the ceiling close to the furthest wall and even a boxing ring set up in the corner past them. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in surprise at how well kept the gym seemed compared to the outside. The smell of sweat and leather brought back memories of countless hours spent training with his friends as a child. Temari gripped his wrist and dragged him towards the change rooms.

"Wait here, I have an extra judogi you can borrow for today. It'll be a little small but at least it's clean." She disappeared into the women's room for what seemed like a split second and reappeared with a blue gi folded in her arms. Shikamaru mumbled a thanks and pushed his way into the mens room.

Shikamaru exited and stood sheepishly outside the door of the change room tugging on the hem of his sleeve, which was easily 3 inches too short. Not to mention the pants that actually fit quite well around the waist but were much too short, leaving his ankles and the base of his calves exposed. He spotted Temari standing near the desk chatting to an older gentleman dressed in a black gi, matching Temari. He smiled at her affectionately and ruffled he hair while saying something to make her laugh. Shikamaru wasn't aware of the expression he was wearing, but was immediately met with a questioning look from Temari as she caught his eye. He walked over and bowed in introduction the man he assumed was the owner.

"You must be the Nara kid from the Leaf I've heard so much about!" Temari fought to keep her cheeks from reddening and trained her eyes to the ground. "I used to work with your coach Asuma back in the day. He spoke quite fondly of you." He gave Shikamaru a big smile that crinkled the corner of his eyes. "The name's Mikio. It's a pleasure to meet you son. I'm the owner of this fine establishment and the recently acquired teacher of your friend Temari here." Temari chipped in quickly trying to save herself further embarrassment.

"Thanks, sensei. We're just testing out how rusty Shikamaru is, so no coaching needed today." She smiled and stepped forward gripping the sleeve of Shikamaru's gi, effectively dragging him to a bright corner of the mats. He wondered how much Temari actually knew of him if she had spoken to her sensei about him previous to their introduction today, but it was just a passing thought that he placed in a mental folder of 'things to ask about later'. Shikamaru cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders a couple times to loosen up. Temari had her hands linked together and fully stretched out behind her. She tightened the belt holding her gi closed and stood with hands on her hips looking menacing. Shikamaru noticed that she looked more comfortable that he had ever seen her before, now that she was standing in her element. The light streaming in from the window set fire to her blonde hair and danced mischievously in her eyes. She wasn't what you would call beautiful, she was absolutely radiant, and Shikamaru felt that to touch her would burn. She said his name inquisitively and he blinked away his reverie. He took a deep breath and squared himself to her. They both bowed slowly not once breaking eye contact. Before he could react she stepped in and gripped his collar with one hand and his sleeve with the other. He slapped his hand over the wrist closest to him and reached for her collar, only to catch a handful of air as she stepped to the side. He tried to follow but was too slow. Still holding tight she turned her hip and butted into him backwards while simultaneously kicking back, effectively taking out both of his feet and giving her some pretty hefty momentum as she flipped him over her shoulder. Shikamaru was completely upside down when he remembered how to break fall. The floor seemed to rise to him in slow motion as he flung out his arms to break some of the momentum. He slammed into the floor and squinted up into a smirk full of pride as Temari pinned him with her forearm.

"You weren't lying, you really are rusty if you let me get away with that right off the bat." Shikamaru reached to grab her arm before she could stand, keeping her attention.

"Uchi Mata." He turned his head to the side and coughed, a little winded from the landing. "I can't believe I didn't recognize you right off the bat."

"Yeah well it took me a couple times before I realized who you were as well, so don't worry about it." Her face softened and she sat back on her knees, gently pulling her arm from Shikamaru's grasp. "Sorry that was.. excessive." Shikamaru chuckled and rolled onto his stomach to prop his chin up with his hands.

"Yeah you could say that. But your best move is now out on the table, and I'm not even warmed up."

"Excuse me?!" Temari slapped her hand down on the mat startling Shikamaru. "If you can take me down even once in the next ten rounds, I would be impressed." She got to her feet and stuck her chin up in the air, moving back to the centre of the corner they had claimed. "Round two let's go Nara!" Shikamaru sighed as he got to his feet. _What a drag this is going to be._

On the third round Shikamaru started to remember his footwork and almost managed a sweep. On the fifth Temari slammed him down so hard he thought she might have broken a rib. On the ninth round they spent almost five minutes hand fighting for grips before Temari let her gi fall open, exposing her bare stomach and tightly covered chest which in turn forced Shikamaru to lose focus and let her get another Uchi Mata on him.

"That should seriously be considered cheating." Temari adjusted her gi and helped him up this time.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so easily distracted while under attack." She grinned devilishly and squared up to bow for their last round. Shikamaru felt a trickle of sweat make its way down his spine and shivered at the sensation. "Last round, if you've got anything left in the tank that is." Shikamaru frowned and squared up without a response. She moved to jump in as she had in the first round, hoping to have the advantage of better cardio over him, but he had been expecting it. She was too eager to jump the gun. He slipped just past her movement and caught her extended arms. As the ball of her foot made contact with the mat, Shikamaru struck her ankle with his own foot and effectively took her down. She lay on her back still holding on to him with a look of surprise on her face.

"Not bad for a guy out of practice." It was his turn to smirk at her from above as a dark look crossed her features. She squirmed out from under him and sat up to face him on the mats.

"Don't be so cocky, it did take you ten tries."

"And you did say you'd be impressed if I could get you within ten." She rolled her eyes at him and began to pull the elastics out of her hair. She rolled the four ties onto her wrist and flopped onto her back letting her hair fan out around her. In that moment Shikamaru's stomach growled loudly and he pressed a fist against it tightly to try and make it stop.

"Okay that was pretty good." Shikamaru barely heard her but nonetheless let a smile ghost his lips at her small compliment.

"Temari." He tasted her name on his tongue as he said it and she turned her gaze to him lazily. "You must need more than toast to survive."

"Well the coffee helps but you're right. I'm starving." She rolled over into a cat stretch before standing and offering a hand to Shikamaru once again. He took it and let her help him up. He hadn't noticed but several people had made their way into the gym while they were sparring. A couple were also sparring in gi's and some were wrapping their hands to presumably hit the bags or each other.

"What kind of martial arts do they teach here?" Shikamaru asked while watching the sparring duo attempt to pin one another.

"Mostly Judo and Boxing, but they recently introduced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu once a week since there aren't any decent gyms nearby to practice.

"It's an olympic gym?" It was rhetorical but he was impressed. Temari just shot him a shrug with a smile and made her way to the changing rooms.

"Food?" Temari posed the word as a question. Shikamaru nodded and went to change.

In less than fifteen minutes they were standing outside at the bus stop arguing about where to go. Shikamaru had insisted on taking the gi home and washing it but Temari refused claiming he would probably do it wrong and ruin it. She had also somehow found him some soccer shorts and very aggressively suggested he put them on or possibly die of heat stroke. With only a little grumbling he had changed into the uncomfortably short shorts and made his way outdoors after Temari. He caught his reflection in the window outside and thought he looked absolutely ridiculous in the short shorts and tank top combo considering how skinny he was.

"I don't even like eggs! And I don't want breakfast anymore. It's 11 o'clock!" Shikamaru clenched his teeth and crossed his arms angrily.

"It's technically still morning, and how can you not like breakfast?" Temari opened her mouth to protest when they both saw the bus approaching fast. Shikamaru waved a hand to get the attention for the driver to stop. He could feel displeasure seeping out of Temari as she followed him closely and sat on the seat across from him. The bus was mostly empty aside from two or three possible students making their way back home after a rough night of partying.

"For the record I do like breakfast, I just like it better at night." With that Temari turned her attention to the window silently letting Shikamaru know she was done talking to him for now. He watched the tree's turn into buildings as they entered the city and let the breeze of an open window keep his forehead from overheating. He mindlessly reached for the bell when they arrived at his stop and stood up before remembering that Temari was with him. She finally gave him attention and stood up as the bus slowed to a halt. They exited and stood directly across the street from Shikamaru's apartment. He wasn't going to bring her there, no matter how uncomfortable his shorts were. " So what's there to eat around here?"

"Actually there's a diner around the corner that serves breakfast AND lunch." Temari shrugged beside him. He looked down at her being several inches taller and met her eye for a second before she turned away expressionless. Had she been staring at him? He tried not to let it get to his head since he would probably over-analyze it. They took off at a matched pace towards the diner, sticking close to the looming shadows of the high rise buildings in attempt to keep cool.

"I can't believe how hot it is, especially after all that rain we got yesterday." Temari tried for easy conversation. Shikamaru scanned the street and couldn't even spot the remnants of a leftover puddle. "Not that I mind, it actually reminds me of home."

"Where is home for you?" Shikamaru asked forcing her to slow her pace as he could now see the diner approaching and didn't want her to change the topic.

"It's not far from here actually, a small vacation town a few hours drive, and the ocean is only another hour away after that." She sighed quietly with a small smile on her face and squinted as they crossed the street into the sunshine. "Is this is?" They had arrived and were now standing in a small lineup trailing along the makeshift patio fence.

"This is one of my favourite spots in the city that I've discovered over the past 5 years I've been here." Shikamaru caught the host's eye and he smiled and waved politely recognizing him at the back of the line. "And it's open 24 hours so it was usually a first choice whenever we were out drinking since it's so close to my apartment."

"Oh is that where we got off then. I was wondering where the hell you were taking me." Shikamaru felt heat creeping up his neck, and not from the weather.

"Not at all! I was just on auto pilot and you weren't paying attention." She cut him off with a genuine laugh.

"You're kinda cute when you're embarrassed Shikamaru." He touched a hand to the back of his neck defensively and made a face at her, but he had to put a little extra effort to hold back a smile on that one.

"Reservation for Shikamaru?"

"Yeah that's me." Shikamaru cut in front of the small party ahead of them with Temari sticking close on his heels. The host led them to an umbrella'd table at the far end of the patio and handed them menus as they took their seats. "Thanks Ryu."

"No problem! We were getting worried about you since you haven't been around in a while. Is Choji coming back soon?" Shikamaru gave the young host a sincere smile and shook his head.

"Not for a while. He'll be back mid February actually."

"Too bad, he's probably the reason we're still in business!" He laughed loudly at his own joke then jumped at the sound of his name being shouted from somewhere inside the restaurant. "Duty calls my friend. Enjoy your date!" He winked at Temari and took off in a sprint barely dodging a server carrying plates to the table next to them. She looked surprised at the assumption and then let her eyes darken as she turned to face Shikamaru.

"This is _not_ a date in case you were wondering."

"I didn't think it was." He watched her expression shift again as she accepted his answer and glanced at the menu. He thought to himself that's he's never met someone who showed their emotions so openly and could shift moods in such quick succession. He thought of Ino briefly, but it wasn't the same since Ino loved to over-dramatize everything and rarely let people know her true feelings. He tapped out a beat with a finger on his leg and watched Temari flip back and forth on the menu undecidedly. She had freckles lightly dusting her nose and the tops of her shoulders where the sun kissed her most often. Her dark lashes cast shadows on her cheeks drawing attention to her lower lip she chewed on in concentration. Shikamaru subconsciously bit his own while studying her. She was a study in gold and bronze with piercing blue eyes that made him think of the Caribbean ocean he had seen once on a vacation with his parents as a child. He watched a drop of sweat trickle down her throat and pool in the hollow of her collar bone. He realized he was staring a little too intensely and forced his eyes to the people meandering by on the street. He cleared his throat gently and Temari finally put her menu down and follow his eyes to the street.

"With that kind of expression, I assume you know what you want."

"I honestly thought I did but I'm not sure anymore."

"What? You didn't even look at the damn menu!" Shikamaru snapped his focus to her with wide eyes.

"Shit. I... – never mind. Yes I know what I want to eat." Temari laughed and folded her arms on the table.

"Don't worry Shikamaru. Nobody really knows what they want in the grand scheme of things. Most people are just lucky enough to end up in the right place at the right time. And then eventually, you just kinda fall into yourself." Shikamaru absorbed her words and saved them to memory as she paused. "Also I'm getting waffles."

"I thought you didn't like breakfast?" Shikamaru squinted at her as light reflected off the watch of the approaching server come to take their order.

"Changed my mind. I'm allowed." She stuck her tongue out at him and then greeted the server sweetly as if nothing happened. She ordered coffee, water and milk along with her waffles before the server turned to Shikamaru with her pen waiting expectantly on the notepad. He ordered water and the breakfast special which consisted of eggs, bacon and home fries.

"Did you just order three drinks?" Shikamaru shifted his chair slightly to the left to remain in the shadow of the umbrella. Temari shrugged and crossed her ankle over her knee.

"Why did you stop doing Judo? If I remember correctly, you were one of the best in the western conference."

"Yeah, I was. But life happened you know. I got accepted to university early and was offered a full ride as long as I could maintain my grades so that ended up taking priority." The server returned with their drinks and left without a word. Shikamaru sipped his water and watched as Temari took her own and chugged it. "Do you need more?" He began to push his glass towards her as she placed the cup back on the table and poured her coffee over the ice cubes into the glass. She ripped open several packets of sugar and poured them in and stirred before adding half her glass of milk. Shikamaru frowned and cocked his head to the side. "You know you can order iced coffee here."

"I saw that, but it's always better when you make it yourself. Besides they make it with cream, not milk and I cannot stand cream." She stirred the drink viciously before letting the straw spin with the momentum of the liquid and refocusing on Shikamaru. "Anyways, you said you were offered a full ride? That's pretty amazing for someone as inconspicuous as you. Even with school though, mental stimulation isn't enough to keep you alive."

"Yeah well, I preferred to spend what little free time I did have catching up on sleep or maintaining the few friendships I have here." He sipped his water and watched Temari as she carefully tasted her own concoction. "There are some pretty nice spots you can walk to in the forest behind campus too."

"So you like to hike then?"

"Only if I can nap in the sunshine somewhere along the way." Temari laughed at his response.

"Of course a nap is the endgame" She twirled her straw between her fingers as she mused on. "So you gave up Judo in lieu of naps and some sort of social life even with a full ride. Oh and you stare at girls when you think they aren't looking and take the easy way out of bad situations." Shikamaru clenched his jaw and shifted forward aggressively to interject before Temari rudely raised a hand to stop him from speaking, motioning she wasn't finished. "I don't think pervert is really a suiting name for you when you're really just a lazy ass." Shikamaru relaxed and leaned back in his chair, taking in Temari's typical smirk.

"Yeah I think I'd prefer lazy ass over pervert anyways. At least it's accurate." Shikamaru once again shifted slightly to the left with the sun burning the edge of his arm. "So you competed at the leaf before. It must have been for the Western conference since that's the only competition I remember anyone coming from any further than this city. Also I specifically remember seeing you right before your last match started." Or at least he remembered the terrifying look on her face as she had stood menacingly at ten years old, staring down her opponent across the ring. At the time he had hoped she would win so she could have a look other than murder grace her childish features.

"Yeah I never forgot that tournament. My last opponent was good competition and almost had me near the end. I remember watching you fight as well." Shikamaru shrugged, he didn't even remember the matches from that day, considering how long ago it was now. "I was there one other time for a seminar, but you weren't there." She frowned a little at the memory while she continued twirling her straw between her fingers. Shikamaru shrugged again, not really remembering as much as she seemed to about his Judo days. He watched her drift into her own thoughts for a second, so quiet and still while the world seemed to rush beyond so loud and blurry. She caught him staring and gave him a small smile returning from wherever she had gone off to. "My stomach is growling now, it must be contagious."

"Yeah right, it's probably from being filled with nothing but sugar!"

"It's really not _that_ sweet. Here you try it!" She slid the condensation covered glass across the table to him with the glint of a challenge in her eye. He sighed loudly and rolled his eyes lifting the glass high enough to reach the straw. He took a small sip through the straw and immediately recoiled at the taste. He set the glass down in the centre of the table and turned to spit out his drink on the ground. _Thank god we're on the patio._

"Do you make all your drinks that sweet?"

"It's not that sweet! You're just a baby."

"You'd think with all that sugar you'd be a little sweeter." Her face grew dark and a vein started to pop over her right eyebrow.

"You little motherf..."

"Your waffles Miss?" Their server stood awkwardly next to the table with two plates in hand as she obviously realized she had interrupted some sort of argument between the two. Temari nodded without looking away from Shikamaru. The server placed her plate down gently in front of her before giving Shikamaru his just as slowly. She pulled out syrup and ketchup from her apron and placed them on the table. "Can you get you two anything else?" They both said **No** simultaneously and the server turned on her heel and walked away quickly.

Despite the tension and the still rising temperature, the food was delicious and warm. Shikamaru shifted away from the creeping sunlight again and they both realized he was now only a foot away. At least at this point the sun couldn't creep across any more before it was directly above them.

"If you're getting closer so you can hit on me, don't bother, you've already killed the mood."

" _It's not a date Temari_." Shikamaru said mockingly as he squirted ketchup onto the edge of his plate. She poured syrup heartily over her waffle covered in fresh fruit and whip cream before attacking it with her fork and knife. Shikamaru almost choked on his bite of egg after observing her from the corner of his eye. She continued to eat with gusto even with Shikamaru shaking his head at her.

"It's rude to stare!" She said with a mouthful, reaching for her 'iced' coffee to wash the bite down.

"I'm just making sure you don't choke eating like that."

"Whatever, it's good, like really good." She gave her torn apart waffle a look of lust and admiration before diving back in. Shikamaru chuckled and ate the rest of his food in silence.

After they finished eating, they talked about classes at the school and tried to figure out if they had ever crossed paths before, being in similar programs. Turns out they were in the same year and had a couple of the same classes, but had never had one together that would have had them cross paths. Temari stood and excused herself to the ladies room after the server refilled his water and brought Temari a new one. As Temari walked away into the building the server returned with one bill in hand. Shikamaru must have had a solemn expression because she immediately tried to take the bill back with an apology. Shikamaru shook his head and pulled out his wallet offering enough cash to cover both meals and the tip. When Temari returned he stood before she could sit.

"I think I need to move or I'm going to pass out."

"Yeah, me too actually. Where can I pay?" She picked up her drawstring bag from the extra seat and opened it to retrieve her wallet.

"Oh, yeah I covered it while you were gone."

"You shouldn't ha-"

"Consider it my treat since you beat me 9 out of 10 today." Temari considered this for a moment before dropping her wallet back into her bag and sliding the strings over her shoulders.

"Well then, the odds of me eating free are looking good then." She smirked over her shoulder as she turned to leave. "Walk me to the bus stop will ya?"

"Troublesome woman." Shikamaru grumbled as he followed her. She made no reaction to his comment so she either didn't hear it or didn't care.

Shikamaru led her to the nearest bus stop which also happened to be right outside his apartment. When they stopped Temari glanced at the building and shielded her eyes with a hand as she looked to the roof.

"What floor do you live on?" Shikamaru didn't answer right away, unsure if he wanted to share that information, but Temari continued to look to the sky waiting patiently.

"The 6th floor. I've got a pretty decent view." He would have preferred to live on the 8th which was the top floor and had the best view with roof access, but it was out of Choji's price range so he settled for the 6th with the neighbouring apartment for his best friend.

"It looks... nice." She shifted her attention to the approaching cars, looking for the bus.

"Yeah well it's nicer than most places downtown and close to work, so it was ideal."

"Where do you work?" She turned back to face him, her shoulders and the tip of her nose were beginning to burn in the midday sun. Shikamaru wondered how red he was going to be tonight.

"Konoha Inc. I've only been there a week, but it seems to be going well and I have a really great coworker to share my office with." Shikamaru thought he saw a new emotion crossing Temari's face but she had turned away before he could tell.

"I've heard of them. Anyways here's my bus, let's do Judo at 9am on Sundays. I need a good sparring partner and I'm sure you'll be back to my level in a few weeks. You can get my number from Ino if you want."

"9am! You're crazy woman. That means I gotta be up at 8 to get there on time, and Sunday is my day to sleep in!" Temari just shook her head and grinned up at him as the bus came to a halt at their stop.

"Take care lazy ass." With that the bus doors closed and Shikamaru was left alone watching the bus drive away with the mixed feelings of dread and excitement.

"She's going to be the death of me."


	7. When He Left

Author's note: I wish I had more time to write and then I'd put out chapters every other day, but adulting unfortunately requires maintenance. 7 is actually my unlucky number so the chapter is going to be a quick one with chapter 8 to follow shortly after. In the meantime, enjoy a little 7 from me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters

* * *

2 months earlier

"She turned me down." Shikamaru didn't move from his sprawled position on the couch while Choji sat on the floor near his feet. Choji had been barely audible but Shikamaru hadn't missed it. He knew it was coming and had run out of things to say to comfort his best friend.

"I mean she was really nice about it, but I feel kind of... played." Choji pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself like a child. "I guess I should have known, but it still sucks." Shikamaru sighed and very slowly got up and moved himself to the ground on the opposite end of the couch with his legs out and his arms stretched across the cushions.

"Listen man, she's not the one for you. She's a drama magnet and a total tease, you don't really want that." Shikamaru waited and then turned after a moments silence. "Do you..? I just don't get why?" The grey sky cast strange shadows across the room between the drops of rain that collected and streamed down in shifting patterns. Choji dropped his head and closed his eyes, tears barely contained.

"You just don't see her. She is so much more than pretty and 'trouble'. She is smart and brave and she cares so deeply for the people and the things she believes in. She's – She is sunlight Shikamaru." Shikamaru frowned and tilted his head in thought.

"Sure she is, but she's Ino. She's like a sister, and an annoying one at that."

"Okay but that's not how I see her. I mean just try and have some perspective."

"Choji I can only be me and can only understand what you see through explanation. Besides it's Ino and we've both known her for so long. I guess I can understand the appeal but I don't understand why you didn't see this coming. I mean it's not the first time she's turned you down."

"This time was different Shikamaru. Before she always made excuses like the fact we were too young, or that she wasn't interested in any relationships from anyone. This time she... she. Just. Said. No." Choji was now letting tears fall freely down his face in silence while Shikamaru sat indecisive. He did want to comfort his friend but he also knew that Choji had to learn and not let some girl keep playing his heart. He was annoyed that Choji was saddened by something that had happened for the fifth time.

"Choji you gotta let her go. It's just not meant to be and you can't keep torturing yourself like this." Choji clenched his fists and seemed to finally burst.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW! You've never loved someone, hell half the time you're too damn lazy to give a shit about anything but a damn nap. Fuck you Shikamaru. I'm tired of you trying to give me life lessons on shit you don't even understand. You're too smart for your own good, and if you don't learn anything real from it you're going to end up all alone." Shikamaru was stunned and took several seconds to fully process all the words that had just been shouted at him. He suddenly felt betrayed and very angry. He jumped to his feet and subconsciously took a step forwards.

"Learn anything real? You call your little childhood fantasy _love_ and thats the reality _I_ have to learn. Just calm down! All I said was to let her go, and considering the facts of how _you feel_ you can't deny that that is the best solution to your problem!" Choji stood up and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He zipped up his hoodie and turned to walk to the door in silence. As he pulled open the door with much more force than necessary, he stopped and turned to Shikamaru.

"Not everything is a problem that needs to be analyzed. You're thinking with your head when you should be listening to your heart. You should consider that or it'll be the reason you end up all alone." With that Choji closed the door, The sound seemed to resonate and leave a ring in Shikamaru's ears. He stood frozen to the spot with his heart rattling loudly in his chest and his mind racing so fast he could barely make sense of it. He wasn't heartless at all, he thought to himself. He cared so deeply for the few people he chose as friends and his family as well. He would easily take a bullet for them or give a kidney, anything! He paced from the window to the door and back again. He was angry that Choji of all people would accuse him of being heartless, especially over a conversation about Ino, the other best friend of their trio. Shikamaru realized he was losing control and took a deep breath and let his hands fall to his sides, forcing his fists to relax. He counted each step as he paced. Ten steps every time. Once he finally felt calm again he sat down in front of his window and traced the path of a drop as it made it's way back to earth. _What if he's right? Am I being too cold, too calculated? Am I really the asshole?_

* * *

Two weeks later Ino burst into Shikamaru's apartment while he was making breakfast.

"He's leaving!" Shikamaru choked on the piece of toast in his mouth.

"What, who's leaving?"

"Choji! Didn't he tell you?" A frown crept onto Shikamaru's face as he thought about their last interaction and that neither had spoken since. "Shikamaru snap out of it! What happened, why is he leaving? Is it because..?" Ino made a small gasping sound and clapped her hands over her mouth. "Is this my fault?"

"Ino relax. What do you mean he's leaving." Ino stood motionless except for tears that filled her eyes and threatened to spill over.

"He's going to Africa, and he's leaving today." Ino barely squeaked the words out before dropping into a sobbing mess on the floor.

"What the hell Ino! He's been talking about applying to this for months and now you're freaking out?!" Shikamaru squatted next to her and awkwardly patted her back.

"I know, but it's so sudden now and right after I.. after I.." She never finished her sentence. She leaned into Shikamaru shoulder and sniffled quietly, slowly soaking his shirt. Shikamaru wrapped his arm around her and kneeled.

"Hey, don't worry about it. He's been wanting to go for awhile now, I'm sure it had nothing to do with you."

"Don't lie to me. I know I'm partially to blame." She took a deep breath and continued. "I can't - fake a feeling I don't have though."

"Ino, Choji wouldn't want you to." She nodded into his shoulder and let more tears soak his shirt as they remained in their awkward position for several minutes. Once Ino had stopped crying she sat back and covered her face with her hand. Shikamaru nodded before Ino could ask to use his washroom. She left the room and Shikamaru was left with his breakfast mess to clean up.

Ino returned and told Shikamaru to get dressed since they were going to go say goodbye. Shikamaru looked down at his green sweatpants and university t-shirt. He shrugged and said Let's go, not giving Ino time to protest his lack of fashion sense. Ino knocked tentatively on the door next to Shikamaru's. They both stood quietly in the hall while Shikamaru tried to stifle his anxiety of having not settled their previous fight. Choji swung the door open and smiled widely at his friends.

"Hey guys, just in time! I just called the taxi so I've got about ten minutes." He greeted Ino with a big hug and motioned Shikamaru to enter with a friendly smile. Usually Choji's apartment was homey and filled with snack foods on all surfaces, but he was really moving out this time. There was nothing left but luggage and the standard dining table and chairs that had come with the apartment.

"It's so... empty." Shikamaru's voice seemed to echo in the large space. It was a mirror image of his own apartment, and Shikamaru had only added a couch and coffee table, but it wasn't Choji and it didn't feel right.

"We're going to miss you so much! You'll have to write to us, like at least once a month or as often as you can!" Ino sat on one of Choji's luggage bags next to the window. She smiled brightly at him without a hint of her breakdown earlier. She was awfully good as containing her emotions. Choji laughed and pulled up a chair next to her and they laughed and reminisced about memories in the apartment. Shikamaru stood next to them, leaning against the window and listening to their conversation while watching the cars and people move about below. The ping of Choji's phone made everyone silent.

"Well thats my cue to leave." He stood and pushed the chair back to the table.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help bring your luggage down?"

"Nah it's just the two bags. Besides I've got to get seriously strong if I'm going to be doing construction!" He gave a big belly laugh and Ino started to tear up a little. She jumped on him and held him tight for a second. She whispered something in his ear and Choji smiled sadly at her before reaching up to mess up her hair. She immediately turned from sad to annoyed and began to fix it. Shikamaru stepped forward and awkwardly put out his hand unsure of where they stood. Choji gave him a sad smile before grabbing his hand and pulling him in to a one armed hug. "Promise me you'll listen this time." Choji let him go and tapped his finger against Shikamaru's heart. Shikamaru felt a pang of guilt at the words and fought to keep his emotions in check.

"Yeah okay, whatever." Choji smiled and swung his bag up on his shoulder, pulling the luggage behind him. The two followed him into the hallway and watched him walk away until he rounded the corner to the elevators. He gave them both a small wave before disappearing. As soon as he was gone Shikamaru felt like someone had poured cold water into his chest and his heart contracted. Choji was really gone for the next 6 months, and he hadn't said sorry.


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note: I hope that last mini chapter held you over. There's a character here that I didn't understand/like in the series so I'm writing him how I want to write him; cold, smart and a complete psychopath. Seriously though, let me know your thoughts. R&R! *I realize this too as a reader and am actively trying to leave little notes on the fics I read as well.

As always, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters

* * *

Shikamaru had spent the rest of his Sunday lazing around his apartment and occasionally cleaning up a small mess here and there. When his phone had turned on he had a small encyclopedia of texts from Ino as per usual. He sent her a single text back that said he was fine and home safe. She hadn't messaged him since. Shikamaru lay on the couch in the hot square of sunlight that poured through his window. He had been too lazy to pay extra for AC and had a couple fans going with his bedroom window wide open. Hopefully the night air would cool down the apartment enough for the next couple days. After doing his dishes from his makeshift dinner of rice and frozen veggies his phone rang.

 **S-** Hello?

 **K-** Hey man it's Kankuro, how's it going?

 **S-** It's good, whats up?

 **K-** Oh not much. I'm pretty sure I'm still hungover man. What a night!

 **S-** Haha yeah I think I finally got it out of my system while running around last night.

 **K-** Shit I should've thought of that. Wanna hit the gym with me next time?

 **S-** I'm not much of a gym guy but I'll go with you sometime.

 **K-** Ha yeah you are pretty scrawny. Oh! I'm calling because I wanted to remind you of the meeting tomorrow morning.

 **S-** I'm not that scrawny.. and yeah I remember.

 **K-** Just make sure you wear your best suit, and seriously, don't be late. I'll wait for you in the atrium.

 **S-** Okay, I'll have a plan or something too. Thanks man, I'll see you tomorrow.

 **K-** Sounds good! See ya!

Shikamaru waited for the call to end before shoving his phone in his pocket and reaching to open his closet. His bedroom didn't have enough room for a real closet and he didn't want to put in a rack so he kept his nice clothes and jackets in the storage closet next to the front door. He had to keep the couple of suits he had in a bag to keep them clean. As he pulled one out he sneezed and sent whatever dust had collected flying. He covered his mouth and closed the door quickly in attempt to contain whatever else might fall out. He took the clothes to his room and hooked the hanger over the edge of his mirror so he would see it first thing in the morning and remember.

That night Shikamaru fell into a restless sleep and kept waking up, stressed out about whatever was going to happen tomorrow. Around 4am he woke up pissed off and went to his kitchen for water. He stopped at his window and glanced outside. It was so still and very dark. He could tell the sun would crack the darkness soon though. He sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. _What the hell is wrong with me. I never have a problem sleeping._ After several minutes of watching the streetlight down the road flash from red to green and back again on it's timer he started to feel drowsy and decided he should go back to bed. He double checked his alarm before finally settling into a dreamless sleep.

The morning was a rush and Shikamaru was too tired to feel like he was functioning properly. He had forced himself up with the alarm and gotten ready faster than expected. He locked his door and headed to the elevator with an extra half hour to spare. He stopped at the coffee shop a block away from his office and was glad to see only one person in line. He arrived a full fifteen minutes early and took a seat at on one of the leather couches near the door, hoping to be in line of sight when Kankuro entered. He opened his laptop and pulled up the proposal they had scrapped and the one they had sent in a window next to it. He read through both then set the laptop on the table in front of him and placed his hands in his lap in an O shape as he had done before.

"Dude you look terrifying like that." Shikamaru jumped not realizing how deep he had gone into his own thoughts.

"Just thinking, nothing scary."

"Yeah with your brain that might be an understatement." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Kankuro took a seat next to him and looked at the screen with a sigh. "You have a plan right?" Shikamaru let the corner of his mouth pull up into a grin.

"Rule one, never go into battle without a plan of attack." Kankuro bounced excitedly and clapped his hands together. Shikamaru raised his cup and drained the last of his coffee.

"Let's hear it Nara."

* * *

10 Minutes later Shikamaru and Kankuro were seated at the corner of a long table filled with people much more important than they were. Shikamaru was very consciously paying attention to his breathing and keeping count in to stop himself from getting psyched out. Kankuro wasn't doing such a good job next to him and kept fidgeting and pulling at his collar. Shikamaru kicked his shin lightly and gave him a look that said _Calm the fuck down._ Kankuro shrugged with a smile and forcibly sat still as the CEO entered the room and took his seat at the head of the table. Shikamaru looked around the table and realized there were actually only 6 people total, including himself and Kankuro, but had felt like more with the size of the table versus the smaller room they were in.

"Good morning everyone, thank you for joining me today in such a respectable and timely matter." The CEO spread his arms out in a welcoming gesture. Shikamaru noticed that Kankuro wasn't the only one looking nervous. He furrowed his brow a bit wondering why everyone was so on edge over a proposal. "As you may have discerned, we are here to discuss the Richmond proposal today and the matter of importance it carries for this company." He flipped open his laptop and hit a single button. The projector behind him lit up and brought up the original proposal on the screen. The realization suddenly dawned on Shikamaru and he felt the blood leave his face. This wasn't just any random proposal that he had happened to stumble upon and made changes to. He had completely trashed and rewritten a proposal that would unite the two most influential companies on the coast. For someone who was literally working their first day to have done something this dramatic would surely have severe repercussions. He hadn't realized but his hands had taken up their usual position for when he was deeply concentrating. He didn't have the luxury of closing his eyes and giving 100% of his focus, but he could make do for the time being since himself and Kankuro were most likely going to be called out sooner rather than later. Kankuro seemed to be riding a roller coaster of emotions as he watched Shikamaru's expression change with his realization. His blood pressure must have been through the roof because he had started off feeling uncomfortably warm upon entering and now he was dead cold with dread.

"Mr. Tsubaki, could you please present your proposal to the room." The CEO slid his chair back smoothly and gestured for the middle aged gentleman to stand. Mr. Tsubaki eyed Shikamaru and Kankuro suspiciously before standing and straightening his cuffs. He started off with a strong presentation for a solid 2 minutes until he came to a stuttering stop as his boss slammed an outstretched palm onto the laminate desk.

"Thank you, but I think I've heard enough."

"Sir?" He responded quietly before taking his seat somewhat stunned.

"Mr. Nara, would you care to explain why this is the biggest pile of steaming shit ever written?" Shikamaru collected himself and stood slowly with his game face on. Mr. Tsubaki began coughing up a fit from trying to contain his outburst. "Tsubaki leave if you cannot control yourself!" The CEO's voice carried rage but his composure remained still and calm. Tsubaki thumped on his chest hard and sat back uncomfortably in his seat. Shikamaru waited for a nod to continue before speaking.

"Considering the long term outcome of what has been proposed to the partnering company, you would have to be a complete idiot to not see how damaging the outcome risked being for the smaller partner. The risks are far too high and it wouldn't be a fair fight to begin with. In the end we would completely overtake the company and their stocks and drive them out of the game entirely. This would not be a partnership, this would be a slaughter for lack of a better term." Everyone was silent and Kankuro had a mixed look of pride and fear as he waited for something, anything to happen. Shikamaru stood with a hand clenched behind his back, possibly the only thing stopping him from visibly shaking under the visual strain of his superiors. The man at the head of the table gestured a hand to say 'go on'. Shikamaru took a breath and kept his voice loud and steady in their glass encasement. "Unless of course this was the intended outcome, and in that case there is a much better way of gaining without eliminating the other party. In fact we can use the partnership to our advantage and there would be more to gain." Shikamaru finished and took his seat again, quietly exhaling a breath he hadn't intended to hold. It was quiet enough that you could hear the CEO take a deep breath himself before spinning his chair around in a full circle and jumping up.

"Brilliant! You all must be curious to see what this young man and Mr. Sabaku have come up with, of course." The other three men at the table nodded politely and waited quiet and nervous for the endgame of this meeting. "Mr. Sabaku, I believe it's you who would like to present." Kankuro stood and looked to Shikamaru with a nod. Shikamaru gave him a thumbs up under the table in encouragement. Kankuro stood at the corner of the screen and their proposal popped up beside him. He gave the room a grin and began.

"Okay gentlemen, here's the gist of it..." Shikamaru relaxed and began to sit comfortably in his seat at the back of the room while Kankuro gave the presentation of a lifetime. As he went through the points and process Shikamaru took mental notes of what could use tweaking and also a couple of things that should have been fixed in a second edit. He could pass it off as a rookie mistake since it had been his first day, but he now realized that he could pose any idea he had to Kankuro. He was a master at presenting and establishing the current idea at stake. They made a kick ass team.

The other two men who had not introduced themselves were furiously taking notes on pads of paper they had pulled out as soon as Kankuro had started speaking. Mr. Tsubaki was giving the screen a furious look and growing more and more red as the presentation went on. Shikamaru thought that he might actually explode if he didn't try breathing soon.

"That's it. Thank you." Kankuro stood with his hands folded neatly in front of him fighting to maintain composure when he could tell he nailed it. He bowed slightly to the table and waited to be addressed.

"Thank you Kankuro, please take your seat." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Kankuro being called on so casually by his first name and the look of satisfaction on the CEO's face. "I think it is an excellent proposal boys. It obviously needs a little touching up but it is clearly the superior proposal." He closed the laptop and folded his fingers together in an X. Some gesture or another had caused the windows to defog automatically. "Mr. Nara, what is your current position here at Konoha Inc." Shikamaru sat up straighter at being called upon.

"Entry level Analyst, sir."

"And you've been working with us for a week now, fresh out of university, correct?" Shikamaru frowned at the direction of the conversation but agreed with a nod. "That's unfortunate." The man sighed and Mr. Tsubaki finally snapped.

"Are you really going to entertain this pathetic mockery of childlike ideas from these rookies?! They aren't ruthless enough! You know that as well as I do! This business will chew them up and..."

"That is enough." The voice was so cold it seemed to burn. Mr. Tsubaki seemed to fold into himself at being dismissed so harshly and looked at the floor cowardly. "Mr. Nara, it seems you're up for promotion, a spot just opened up." Kankuro looked at Shikamaru with wide eyes and back to the head of the table. "Mr. Tsubaki, please collect your things. I will have Miss Kaya escort you out of the building within the hour with your severance package." Tsubaki looked up at his boss with his broken heart showing clearly in his eyes. He seemed to let a whimper escape him before standing and slowly collecting his few things he had with him. The table watched as he walked quietly from the room until the door closed gently behind him. "You can have his job."

"I'll need Kankuro as well sir, he did do half the work, at least." He knew he was pushing it but there was no way he was taking credit for a project they both worked on, and especially after Kankuro had presented so brilliantly.

"Of course, you'll have to share an office but we can definitely make the arrangements." Kankuro buzzed in his seat next to him with excitement. "You are now our senior analysts and project management overview. Everything that comes directly to me will go through you first. You can all return to your offices now." The two other men stood and introduced themselves to Shikamaru and Kankuro begrudgingly before exiting. Shikamaru and Kankuro stood next to the CEO and were stopped before exiting. "Nara, you have not failed to impress me and it has only been a week. I had hoped for great things but was not expecting them immediately. I hope you've got a lot more where that came from or we'll have to demote you." Shikamaru nodded with a blank expression. "Kankuro it seems you've found someone who can finally utilize your talents. I hope you can keep up."

"Yes sir, I will not disappoint."

"That's my boy!" He turned back to Shikamaru and outstretched a hand. "I do believe we've met but were not properly introduced." Shikamaru gripped his hand firmly and shook. "Rasa Sabaku, but please call me Sir or Boss." Shikamaru could not contain his surprise this time. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes immediately went from Rasa to Kankuro. He let go and before he could speak Rasa excused himself and stepped out with a pat on Kankuro's shoulder.

"Is that..."

"Yeah we kinda work for my dad." Shikamaru groaned loudly at Kankuro's sheepish expression.

The rest of the day flashed by in a blur. They were escorted from their previous office to the exact room on the floor above. It was longer than the last room with desks that could be joined to create a mini conference table. There was also the added bonus of a mini fridge with a coffee maker in the room. Apparently it was there for 'work efficiency' so they would feel the need to leave the office less with the necessities nearby. A neatly dressed woman in grey came with a stack of papers and briefed them on their new position and the job expectations. It took 6 hours and by the end of it Shikamaru was in desperate need of coffee or a nap. Once she left the boys had half an hour left of their day to absorb what had happened. They both sat in stunned silence with a massive amount of paperwork on their desk waiting to be sorted and completed. Shikamaru sighed and gathered his things.

"Let's deal with this tomorrow." Kankuro nodded in agreement and grabbed his laptop bag.

"Sounds good to me, my man. Wanna grab a coffee? I know a good place around the corner." Shikamaru shot him a grin since he knew exactly where he was talking about.

Shikamaru sat at a corner table sipping on black coffee while Kankuro poured several packets of sugar into his cup across the shop. He thought of Temari's Iced coffee and shuddered at the memory of the taste. Kankuro joined him and let out a big sigh.

"What a day! I'm pretty stoked about this promotion and especially for my next pay check!" Kankuro was almost giddy at the thought of money. They had received a pretty hefty pay raise and Shikamaru was looking forward to more regular groceries and not worrying about cab fare or dwindling savings.

"Yeah but keep in mind that we're definitely going to have our work cut out for us. I mean I'll be surprised if we can get through all that paperwork just from today by the end of the week. What a drag." Kankuro pouted and looked down into his coffee cup.

"True enough, but we'll get the hang of it soon enough I'm sure." Shikamaru sipped on his bitter coffee and let his eyes unfocus at the passerby's outside, making them look like a steady blur of greys and blues streaming by.

"Anyways, why didn't you tell me the CEO was your dad when you brought me up to him on the first day?"

"Oh, it didn't seem important at the time." Kankuro shrugged and was instantly distracted by the ping of his phone from his pocket.

"Are you kidding me? That's vital information man. You also probably should have let me know how important that proposal was before we shit all over the original and rewrote it. We got someone fired Kankuro!" Shikamaru was exhausted from riding on pure adrenaline all day and was starting to crash. He felt himself getting giddy from being overtired and knew he wouldn't be able to stick around long before he needed to crash.

"Tsubaki has always been an asshole, and especially since my dad took him on as his right hand man. I honestly think we played right into his game. He wanted you working for him since before you even graduated. When your resume came in... Actually I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you this." Kankuro looked nervous and was glancing around the coffee shop as if they were being spied on. "Listen Shikamaru, this was part of the plan, so you're best off letting whatever happens happen and not overthink it too much." Shikamaru eyed him suspiciously but felt his nervousness across the table and would press the topic another time at a better location.

"Okay." He shrugged and put the lid he had saved on his coffee and stood up. "I gotta go home and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Kankuro said a goodbye and returned his attention to his buzzing phone. As Shikamaru left the shop he squinted at the reflecting sunlight and sighed. This was going to be one hell of a week.

* * *

Shikamaru had been right about the paperwork. It took them a whole day just to organize it into a somewhat sensical pile, and the rest of the week was spent trying to complete and send out the files. By Friday the boys had a system that seemed to work well enough for them to get a decent amount of work done in a single day. Shikamaru would pick a file and go through it making short notes of what needed changes or completion and who it went to and then Kankuro would hash out corrections and pass it back for a reread and packaging. This way there was always something being done and Kankuro was a much faster typer than Shikamaru. Friday afternoon they had gotten down to the last 3 files to be completed. The days work was laid out in specific folders to be dropped off with Kaya who would send them to the appropriate person or office. Shikamaru had just finished editing a file and was sealing it up when a knock on their sliding door interrupted their flow.

"I see you boys are keeping busy. I'm impressed you've gotten almost all of it done in just a few days!" Rasa beamed at the neatly organized folders to his left before entering and closing the door behind him and taking a seat on the edge of their work table. "I need a presentation written and ready to present for next Thursday in regards to.." He fingered through a couple folders before pulling one out. "This one! There are partners from New York coming booked for a lunch meeting in my conference room upstairs." Shikamaru looked at Kankuro who was tapping his pen thoughtfully to his temple.

"No problem, we can do that."

"You'll be presenting Kankuro, and I expect it to be as riveting as the last!" Kankuro forcibly kept his jaw shut and nodded. "Shikamaru, I expect this to have a proper edit this time." He tapped his index finger to his own temple and then pointed at him.

"Yes Sir, we'll have it ready for Thursday." He kept his neutral gaze and watched from his spot at the far end of the room as his superior made to exit.

"Oh and this is absolutely a test. There will be a series of proposals and presentations to be completed over the next 3 months. So we _will_ see just how cut out for the job you both are." With that he slid the door shut again and walked away. Kankuro stayed completely still watching him until he turned the corner before spinning his chair back to Shikamaru and mouthed _what the fuck_ at him. Shikamaru just shrugged and grabbed the package they had to present.

"I'm going to scan this and make a photocopy. I'll send it to you and please try and check your email over the weekend."

"Uhm you're going to work over the weekend?" Kankuro frowned at him as he walked to exit their office.

"Yeah, especially if we end up with this much shit next week. There's no way I'll have time to sleep at night if I don't start this weekend."

"Haha! You're a man with true priorities Nara, just don't overwork yourself."

"Yeah I hate it as much as you do but it would be a drag to lose this job right after getting it because I can't keep up." Kankuro made a noise of agreement and waved him off. Shikamaru walked to the photocopier muttering a string of curse words to himself at the agonizing thought of doing anything Sunday. "Fuck!" He said a little too loud and slapped his palm against his forehead as he remembered he had agreed to Judo in the morning. Why did he make commitments he knew he didn't want to keep.

Shikamaru went home and called Naruto who answered on the first ring. They established a time to meet at their regular store and get groceries. Shikamaru used to always go with Choji and would end up spending far too much money, but since Choji had left he had found it difficult to go. He lacked inspiration and would end up eating crap unless someone came with him with a bigger stomach or better motivation. Choji had the biggest stomach, but Naruto took the cake for most motivation, and for now he would have to do. He changed and packed a couple grocery bags into a backpack before heading out. He had enough time to walk and it was still relatively hot out with the sun beginning to dip behind the high rises. He walked lazily south, towards the university. Laughter and the general cadence of voices poured from restaurants and shops and bars as Shikamaru passed. He thought of the memories people were making and the ones he had created in these places as well. Ino was a riot for going out dancing and had agreed that for every weekend they were dragged to some sleazy club, the next would be a bar of Shikamaru's choice. Unfortunately the city was not as big as they had thought and they had easily covered the best spots within a couple months. Shikamaru had a feeling this year was going to be a lot different. He turned a corner and realized he had spaced out the whole way to the grocery store and stopped out front. He could see Naruto getting off at the stop less than a hundred feet away, he was waving excitedly at him.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto was shouting as he walked towards him with a huge grin. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile and wave back. He had to admit he had some pretty great friends.


	9. Chapter 9

Authors Note: Sorry this one is a little late. I've been trying to do weekly, but honestly, I've got a lot going on. I am super stoked for you guys to read this chapter though, I'm pretty happy with it. As always, enjoy!

*Also the Grease reference is from the second movie, just cause the scene lined up too damn good to leave it out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters

* * *

"Naruto, good to see you too." The blonde haired boy grinned toothily as he stopped next to Shikamaru. He was almost as tall as him now, but still somehow looked the same as he had ten years ago. His over optimistic attitude and devilish side must keep him young, Shikamaru thought to himself with a small smile. Not that he had changed much himself except for the narrowing of his face and probably a several bags under his eyes.

"Did you remember to eat before? You know it's bad to buy groceries on an empty stomach." Naruto skipped through the automatic double doors with Shikamaru strolling in lazily at his heels. As if on queue, his stomach grumbled loudly as he opened his mouth to speak. Naruto just laughed and shrugged.

"Whatever, I'm too lazy to have to carry back any more than I need anyways." He stopped in front of the first row of fruit and watched Naruto pick up a couple different pineapples and sniff them enthusiastically. He shrugged and put one in his cart and turned to shikamaru with the other. As he opened his mouth to offer it to him he started giggling. Shikamaru frowned and cocked an eyebrow at him. Naruto raised the pineapple so it was next to his face and burst into full fledged laughter. Shikamaru suddenly realized what he was doing and felt heat rising to his face.

"Quit it you moron." He snatched the pineapple out of his hand and put it in his cart. They walked slowly through the produce then up and down the aisles while Naruto got Shikamaru caught up on what was going on at school. Shikamaru mentioned his promotion and was forced to give a short, and very edited version of the story to him. When he was done they were standing in the frozen foods, which was also the last aisle.

"Your boss sounds like he's crazy! I mean congrats on the promotion but watch your back. I don't trust guys like that." Shikamaru nodded as he opened a glass door to grab popsicles.

"I was thinking the same thing."

* * *

After they checked out, Shikamaru flagged them down a cab and went back to his apartment. He put his groceries away and made a space for Naruto to keep his while they hung out awhile longer. Naruto was sprawled on the floor in front of the window watching the city grow darker above as tendrils of yellow light reached up from the streets below. Shikamaru stood against the back of his couch and checked his phone. There was a couple messages from Ino asking him if he was coming by and one from his mom checking in on him. He responded then plugged the thing in before it could die of neglect.

"Shikamaru, let's go to the liquor store before it closes. I want some stuff for the week, you know?"

"With the habits of you and Kiba, might be more like for the weekend."

"Hey! You're one to talk! You can drink us all under the table, if I remember that correctly." Naruto scratched his head because he didn't actually remember at all. Although he had not been the first to pass out, Shikamaru was definitely the only one who made it through the night and somehow ended up getting home without vomiting.

"Heh yeah, let's not talk about it." He paused and glanced at the time on his stove. "Let's go then, there's one a couple blocks away." Naruto jumped up and practically ran to the door, slipped on his shoes and burst into the hallway.

"I'll race you down!" He started stretching like he was getting ready for the olympics while Shikamaru lazily pulled on his vans.

"Tsk, I'll take the elevator then, see if you can beat that on the stairs." Naruto nodded wildly and opened the doors to the stairs as he waited for the elevator doors to ding. As soon as it did he took off at a dead sprint. Shikamaru chuckled lightly as he took the easy way down. _What a guy._

Despite the head start, 8 floors was really no match for Naruto. Shikamaru only waited for about 15 seconds before he burst out of the stairwell, red in the face and breathing heavily. He made eye contact with Shikamaru and gave him a look of defeat.

"Not bad though, you were only a few seconds behind." At that Naruto beamed at him and took a deep breath to regain his composure. He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up stylishly and straightened his shirt. Shikamaru began to lead them down the street when Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Oh I forgot to mention but something awesome happened yesterday!" Shikamaru was pretty sure they had different ideas of awesome but nodded slightly in acknowledgement before Naruto continued. "So I was leaving my class yesterday afternoon and these two girls were waiting for me in the hallway. They stopped me and handed me a note, like the old-school ones we used to write to each other back in grade school. Oh my god Shikamaru do you know what it was?!" Naruto was bouncing as they turned a corner. Shikamaru looked at him and laughed.

"No idea, but I'm guessing it wasn't a death threat."

"Nope! It was a profession of LOVE!" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and stifled a laugh.

"Okay so was it from one of those girls who gave it to you?"

"That's the crazy thing. It's apparently from someone I know, but not very well."

"Do you have it? Maybe we can figure out who's handwriting it is." Naruto fished around in his pocket for a second before pulling out a small, folded piece of paper. It looked as if it had been opened and refolded at least a dozen times by how soft and crinkled the paper had become. Shikamaru carefully opened it and held it closer under the light of the shop they were passing by. The handwriting was definitely female, but the letters were small and carefully jotted down in plain blue ink, almost as if the pen had barely grazed the page. Small doodles of a heart and what looked like flowers on ivy sprawled along the edge of the page. Shikamaru read the note and realized this was not a confession of love. It was more like a page ripped out of a someones diary. "Naruto, I'm not sure you were supposed to see this."

"Yeah that's kinda what I thought too, which is why I-" He gulped and fought back a blush. "I wanted to ask you what I should do. I'm obviously excited that someone who can write so beautifully would crush on me, but how embarrassed would she be if she found out I had this?" Shikamaru folded up the note carefully and gave it back to Naruto. He clutched it gently to his chest like a baby bird with a broken wing. "I can't fuck up my one chance at happiness!"

"Don't be so dramatic, besides, I don't recognize the handwriting so it's not someone in our close group. If you can find out who it is then I would talk to her privately and give it back. Just don't, whatever you do. DO NOT let Kiba see that shit." Naruto nodded and slipped the note back into his pocket. "Or Ino for that matter." Shikamaru added as an afterthought.

"Speaking of Ino, I heard she tried to corner her RA and almost got her ass handed to her."

"What!" Shikamaru stopped in his tracks. Naruto stopped a couple steps ahead and turned back to face his friend.

"Yeah she apparently tried to ask if you guys were screwing and the girl.. Tera?"

"Temari."

"Yeah! Temari, she apparently had her pinned against the wall in some kind of choke and told her to mind her own business and that you guys were 'definitely not' fucking. I'm surprised Ino didn't tell you." Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned loudly. What an idiot Ino could be. Temari was obviously a stronger and much more aggressive person that her. With a sigh he rubbed his palms against his temples.

"Yeah, I got locked out last weekend and crashed in her extra room. I didn't even think that anyone would have known since it was so late when I got there, and so early when I left."

"Well you know what they say.." ' _Nothing good ever happens after midnight'_ They said in unison. Naruto shrugged with a grin and turned into the liquor store they had been standing in front of for several minutes. Shikamaru had Naruto follow him to the expensive whiskey in the back where they also kept the vintage wines. Shikamaru and Naruto read a couple labels before Shikamaru spotted the one he wanted. It was a Japanese Hibiki his father had loved, and Shikamaru remembered the smell which made him think oh home. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the price then remembered the earlier talk of Shikamaru's promotion. The two of them each carried a case of beer to the front and paid for their stuff. About ten steps into the walk home Shikamaru regretted the case. It wasn't that it was heavy or he was weak, it was just so damn annoying to be holding something while trying to walk and talk. Naruto skipped happily beside him chatting as if the beer weighed nothing.

"Shikamaru you're breaking a sweat! You'll have to start hitting the gym or office work is going to turn you to mush."

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru grumbled but managed to make it the rest of the way back with little complaint. As they entered the apartment, Shikamaru jumped and almost dropped his alcohol when Ino popped up from the couch and fell over, almost landing on her face.

"Hey guys, whatsup?" She smiled and waved from the awkward position she had fallen into.

"Ino, what did I tell you about giving me a heads up and not scaring the shit out of me!" Ino shrugged and picked herself up off the floor pointing at his phone plugged into the wall. "I tried." Naruto stepped in and put his beer up on the counter before greeting Ino with a big hug. Shikamaru heard his toilet flush from the other room and shot a questioning look at Ino. Before she could answer, Sakura's unmistakable pink hair came through the doorway.

"Hey! Welcome home. I heard you were making us all dinner?" Shikamaru groaned and forcefully stopped himself from slamming his head onto the kitchen counter.

"Whatever. What do you guys want?" Naruto turned with big watery eyes and loudly asked for ramen with drool already leaking from his mouth. "Dude, no. Eat some real food for once." Naruto began to protest but Ino patted him on the shoulder and walked to the fridge to see what was there.

"Hey can you make your famous fajita spread? Looks like you've got most of the stuff for it here." Shikamaru was actually a great cook, but was usually too lazy to whip anything up for himself. Ino and Choji were probably the only two who really knew how killer he was in the kitchen.

"I'm missing the pita bread though."

"No worries! Sakura, Naruto, would you two make a run to the convenience store for some pita bread?" Sakura nodded with a smile. Shikamaru got Naruto's attention and pointed to his pocket then at Sakura, signalling him to ask her about the note. Naruto looked at him with a blank expression for several seconds before it clicked and he gave him a sly nod. Ino pointed out the small store from the view of the window and sent them on their way. Shikamaru was pulling out ingredients as she closed the door and dragged a chair over so she could sit and chat.

"I heard about Temari." Ino twisted her mouth and looked down without response. She let the quiet drag on for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Well it's not like you ever tell me anything. I wasn't expecting her to be so..." She trailed off searching for the right word.

"Pissed off? Yeah that happens when you make assumptions. By the way, thanks for locking me out."

"So you didn't sleep with her then."

"No. Her second room is unoccupied so I crashed there instead of the hallway." Ino was oddly quiet behind him. He turned and glanced at her over his shoulder. She had that look she got when she was planning something dramatic. Shikamaru faced her and shook his knife in her direction. "Don't you dare get any ideas."

"Geez Shikamaru don't point that thing at me! And I'm not. It's just, she's clearly into you, so I'd say go for it." Shikamaru choked on his spit and put his knife down.

"I think you're crazy. That woman is terrifying and abrasive and far too troublesome for a guy like me. I just want the simple life, and right now that does not include a girlfriend."

"Whatever, but like Sakura said, don't miss your chance. She's hot and believe me, you're not the only one who's noticed." Shikamaru started chopping his veggies again and chose to ignore her comment, even though it made his heart skip a beat. He chased the thought of Temari from his head. He really didn't have the energy for that right now.

"So what's going on with that T.A. I haven't heard about him in awhile." Ino jumped for the bait and launched into a story, letting Shikamaru off the hook and distracting him from the girl who was probably going to kick his ass again Sunday.

"He's soooo sweet, and so hard to get! He's the artsy, bad boy type, and you know how I get around those kind of guys." Shikamaru rolled his eyes but had to laugh a little. He was glad Ino wasn't fawning over Sasuke anymore. Ino would have just gotten her heart broken by someone like him. Ino kept on about how they had been left alone and the sexual tension was driving her insane. Shikamaru half listened, half concentrated on not chopping off a finger. As he set slivers of chicken in the oven to bake he tossed his veggies into a pan to fry them. Ino finished her story and pulled out her speaker from her bag and plugged in at the kitchen counter.

"Any requests?" She was already opening up her music app, waiting for him to suggest something.

"Put on some 90s for me." He instantly thought of the song he had heard Temari humming in tune with him the previous weekend. "Sublime?" Ino laughed high and sweet.

"Yeah sure, it's been so long I almost forgot you were into that music. Flash back Friday right?!" She plugged her phone into the dock and turned the music up. Shikamaru smirked and traded out red for green peppers in his pan. Ino started to sing along with Gwen Stefani as a No Doubt track flooded the apartment. Naruto and Sakura came in through the doorway laughing with pop and pita bread in hand. Ino pulled Sakura into the middle of the living room and they danced and sang badly to the chorus of Just a Girl. Naruto tossed the pita on the counter and shoved the pop in fridge. He pulled out two beers and cracked them both open, handing one to Shikamaru before taking a swig of his own. He smiled at Shikamaru as they silently agreed that life was pretty good for the moment.

* * *

"Damn Shikamaru! Who knew you could cook!" Naruto slapped a hand happily against his belly after finishing off the last of the veggies. Sakura nodded in agreement leaning back in her chair. Shikamaru shrugged modestly. His mother had forced him to help her cook dinner every night the 6 months before he left for school. She had promised him that the skills would be useful even if he rarely used them. His dad had added in that it would be great for picking up chicks as well, which had earned him a smack from Yoshino. Ino disturbed his happy memory with an exceptionally loud belch.

"Ino!" Sakura shouted in surprise then burst into laughter at Naruto's shocked expression. Shikamaru sighed and muttered 'you're welcome' at her knowing it was her way of saying thanks for the food.

"Ino, Sakura." He waited till they both looked at him. "I cooked this meal and Naruto helped carry it home, so that means you ladies are on dishes duty." Ino rolled her eyes but Sakura just gave a smile and started gathering dishes.

"Honestly that was so good, I'd do dishes for anyone willing to cook like that for me every night." Ino laughed and disagreed. Usually Naruto would have interjected with a claim of being able to cook like a champ in order to impress Sakura, but the love note he found must have really gotten to him if he wasn't still feeling hung up on her. Shikamaru grabbed both him and Naruto another beer and took up residence on the couch. The music was still playing along with the sounds of the girls giggling and cleaning up, and the apartment was warm and smelled slightly spicy from the food. Shikamaru put his arms up behind his head and leaned back letting his eyes close. It had been a pretty long day for him, especially with how much work he had actually done over the past week. He sighed as he thought of the new project they were on and immediately dismissed the thought, promising himself that he wasn't going to think about work at all till sunday. Naruto jumped into conversation with Ino and Sakura and Shikamaru drifted into a light sleep without realizing it. He woke with a jolt as Ino dropped his legs off the couch and squished herself in between Naruto and himself. He blinked and sat upright looking around.

"Hey sleepyhead, wanna go out?" Shikamaru looked at her like she had just asked him to set himself on fire. "Just to the bar, nothing crazy." She put her hands up in surrender, knowing he wouldn't agree to anything more.

"Sure, let me-"

"Change? Perfect! Then we can go." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and stood up from the couch in a stretch. He went into his room and kicked the door closed behind him. He switched his sweat pants for jeans and his tshirt for dark green and white baseball tee. He ducked into his bathroom and brushed his hair quickly, redoing his ponytail since it had become lopsided from napping on the couch. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized it kinda did look like the top of a pineapple sticking out the back of his head. He groaned and pulled the elastic out. He walked back to his bedroom door and called Ino in. She poked her head into the room with a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru frowned and refused to meet her eyes.

"Can you uh- do something with my hair?" Ino threw the door all the way open and squealed in delight!

"Finally! Yes, yes! Sit down on the bed." She pointed to the edge and then ran into his bathroom. Shikamaru figured he'd regret the decision, but he was up for anything at this point. Besides it wasn't like he was going to run into anyone, except maybe Kiba, who would tease him about it. Ino returned from the bathroom with several elastics, a jar of hair gel and some hairspray.

"Is that all mine?" Shikamaru eyed the can of hairspray nervously.

"Yeah. I left it here when you moved in hoping you'd let me have a go at your hair one day. I've been subconsciously driving you to this decision for over a year now!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and took the can out of her hand.

"Not this shit. Please." Ino shrugged and tossed the can on the floor, letting it roll to the wall and out of the way. She french braided his hair and then made him stand and do a little twirl for her. She shook her head and sat him back down. She undid the braid and pulled his hair into a little bun and made him stand again.

"That looks like you, but more hip. I think you should keep it." Ino smiled clearly pleased with her minimal amount of work. Shikamaru checked himself out in the mirror and shrugged.

"Looks basically the same, except I look like even more of an asshole."

"Well you are an asshole so it's suiting." She picked up the hair gel menacingly. "Unless you want some of this?"

"Nope, let's go." Ino followed Shikamaru out of the room, shutting off the light behind her. Shikamaru picked up his mostly full beer from the table and cheers'd the one Naruto was holding. "Drink up, we're leaving." Shikamaru promptly downed the can and tossed the empty into his recycling bin. Naruto had to finish his in two tries, but nonetheless emptied the can and tossed it. The group made their way out of the apartment and headed to the elevators.

"You're not gonna lock it?" Sakura asked Shikamaru as he closed the door and immediately walked away.

"He never locks it." Ino shrugged before correcting herself. "Except once when he got shitfaced and didn't tell me he was leaving!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder and Sakura just laughed.

"I guess there's not much to take from the apartment anyways." Sakura added. Naruto swayed as the elevator started it's decent. Sakura groaned and told him not to be an obnoxious drunk in public. He shot her a grin and made no promises.

* * *

It was already after 11 when they got to the bar and the place was packed. Fortunately, the hostess immediately recognized Shikamaru and got them a table within minutes of them arriving. They settled into chairs and ordered a pitcher for the boys, and mixed drinks for the girls. Naruto engaged Sakura in a riveting story of Kiba getting kicked out of one of their classes while Ino scooted her chair closer to Shikamaru.

"You look more tired than usual. Are you alright?" Shikamaru watched the waitress place their drinks and wink at him as she walked off.

"Yeah just had a long week at work. It's a bit of a long story so remind me next time we're together and I'll tell you about it." Ino nodded and sipped her drink, leaving pink lipstick marks on the glass. The table chatted for a couple of drinks before Ino practically jumped out of her seat in excitement.

"Let's play a game!" Naruto was on board right away despite not knowing what the game was. "We used to play this back in first year." Shikamaru remembered and tried not to cringe at the stupid shit that had been done because of this damn game.

"Well what is it?"

"It's basically truth or dare, but you only get three truths and if you decide to skip a one you gotta take a shot." Ino was already flagging down the waitress for a round of shots.

"What about if we skip a dare?" Sakura spoke a little slower than usual. She must already be feeling the alcohol, considering she rarely actually drank when they went out.

"You can switch to a truth, but you only get three remember." Sakura made an 'Oh' face and nodded in understanding. "Also, if you lie and someone calls you on it, that's a drink."

"Cool let's do it!" The waitress came back with two shots of tequila for each of them, saying she wasn't technically allowed to bring them any more till the round was gone. Ino passed them out and started them off by asking Sakura 'truth or dare' first. Sakura chose truth, feeling brave that the first question shouldn't be too bad. Luckily Ino went easy on her and asked for an embarrassing story. After Sakura recounted a story about pissing herself of laughter in elementary school, making Ino laugh hysterically remembering the story, she asked Naruto. Naruto picked truth, not feeling drunk enough for a dare yet. She asked him the longest he'd gone without bathing. Naruto laughed and quickly responded with 2 weeks making the girls cry out in disgust.

"What the hell is wrong with you! That's so nasty." Sakura jolted her chair an inch away from him for dramatic effect.

"It was leading up to a camping trip, and then I was camping, and then I realized there were no showers so, yeah." He shrugged and sipped his beer before turning to Shikamaru.

"Truth." Shikamaru said before Naruto could ask. He scratched his head in though for almost a full minute before posing a question.

"Would you ever date Ino?" Sakura smacked him across the back of his head and Naruto tried to dodge a second too late.

"No." He didn't even need to think about it. Ino was a pain in the ass. He loved her like a sister but there was no way in hell he was ever going to date her.

"Rude, you wouldn't have a chance anyways." Ino tossed her hair over her shoulder but didn't really care since she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Ino, choose."

"Dare!" Sakura and Naruto gave a small howl at her bravery and looked intently to Shikamaru.

"Get a _girls_ phone number in the next five minutes without speaking." Naruto dropped his jaw and looked around the bar. Ino finished her drink and put the glass down heavily before standing. She looked around the bar until she spotted her target, a girl around our age sitting at a table with a group of guys. She approached and as she did the girl made eye contact with her. Ino pointed at the girl then at the guys at the table. She made a locking motion with her fingers and the girl shook her head indicating that she was not dating any of the guys at the table. Ino made a 'come here' motion with her fingers and the girl stood like she was being drawn in. She walked up to Ino and smiled at her. Ino reached out ran her fingers down her target's bare shoulder to her forearm. Ino made a phone with her hand and smiled, raising her eyebrows in question. The girl nodded and Ino passed her phone to her and the girl added herself and her name in. Ino must have sent her a text because the girl pulled out her phone and smiled widely. They both retreated to their respective tables, Ino receiving a small round of applause from Sakura and Shikamaru.

"What the hell. How can it be that easy?!" Naruto hung his head in hands and muttered to himself that he was going to die alone.

"Girls are telepathic, we know when another chick is in need." She winked at Naruto who eyed her suspiciously. The game went on for several more rounds and the waitress eventually brought them out another round of shots, and several more drinks that seemed to disapear quickly. Shikamaru was left to one last shot when Naruto asked him a truth about Temari. Ino got far too excited in her drunken stupor so he grabbed the shot and slammed it back. He asked Ino for the name of her T.A. And she responded with "Sigh". Shikamaru squinted at her thinking he might actually be too drunk but she just giggled and repeated.

"Sai! S. A. I." Sakura face palmed and Shikamaru just had to go along with it. When the table came back around to Shikamaru, it was Sakura who asked him truth or dare. Shikamaru glanced down at his three turned over shot glasses and said Dare with a shrug. He had nothing to lose at this point, and it was well into 1am anyways.

"How about a little grease lighting?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and Ino got overly excited again.

"Are you thinking the scene where..?"

"Uh-huh. Let's see if the magic works." Shikamaru glanced nervously between the two conspiring women and looked to Naruto for help. He was eyes closed drooling on the table drunk, with one shot left in front of him. "Shikamaru, I dare you to kiss the next girl that walks through that door." Sakura pointed at the front entrance which remained closed in the few moments the table waited in silence for something to happen. Naruto hiccuped and broke the silence.

"Okay fine. But what if no one else comes in tonight?" Shikamaru regarded the table, thinking that the legs might have been uneven, or maybe he was looking at it from an angle.

"Looks like you're shit outta luck, someone is coming in now." The four of them snapped their heads to give their attention to the entryway. The door swung open letting in cool night air. A woman in ripped denim paired with a ramones shirt and wicked red heels registered before he saw the sandy blonde hair that was chopped and styled messily to her shoulders. Ino almost fell out of her chair her jaw dropped so hard and Naruto slapped a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"I swear if this isn't fate, I dunno what is." Naruto gave Shikamaru the gentle push he needed to stand. Temari scanned the bar and met eyes with a staring Shikamaru. He swallowed hard and summed whatever courage he had and let go of his chair. Temari took two steps slowly forward as Shikamaru walked toward her with a determined look. The corner of her lip turned up as he approached her. He gently slid his hand up into her hair and tilted her head up to meet his. She kept her gaze locked on him until the very last second when he pressed his lips against hers more gentle than he thought he'd be capable of in his current state. She stood stunned for a split second before pressing back into the kiss, forcing his lips to move against hers. Shikamaru drew his arm around her and pulled her into him, deepening the kiss, flicking his tongue into the edge of her mouth. She bit down gently on his bottom lip and released from their embrace. Shikamaru's heart was beating so hard he thought it might jump out of his rib cage. She placed a hand on his chest and gave him an amused look through glossy eyes. She was breathless and the taste of bourbon lingered from where she had bit him.

"Why did you do that?'

"Because I wanted to." Nothing good ever happens after midnight.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: Well I could write you a sob story about my life and why this chapter took so long but seriously, life just happened. I finally kicked some wicked writers block and hopefully can be back on track now that I might actually have a set schedule.

SERIOUS NOTE: I know I've been gone now... 6 weeks, but holy shit the feedback on this so far has been so positive and so encouraging! THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone taking time to read and/or follow and favourite and review. I honestly would be much less encouraged and determined without you all, so seriously. Thank you.

Anyways – Here's a much awaited chapter 10, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

* * *

Their eyes remained locked for a split second before the slightest movement of her lips broke his attention. She mumbled a small sorry, which only made him want to lean in closer, but he was suddenly rocked by a slap across the face. He heard the gasp come from the table behind him but he was too stunned to react. The alcohol made his focus slow, but he still caught the look on Temari's face before she took off past him and into the bar. He walked back to his table, making sure to take slow, steady steps and sat down forcefully in his chair. He glanced between 3 pairs of eyes and made a suggestion.

"I think we've going to need another drink."

The night seemed to fast forward after that. Shikamaru's memories were a lightning fast blur of pictured moments broken up by empty spaces. A flash of another drink being set on his table, the shrill sound of Ino and Sakura laughing with their heads thrown back, and a pair of stormy blues, trying to avoid his own from across the bar. A groan brought him back to his senses as he slowly opened his eyes. It was surprisingly dark, with only speckled lights twinkling in front of him. As he let his focus adjust to the darkness, he realized he was staring out his window from the couch. A light snore started up from behind him and he pushed himself up on his elbows so he could see behind the couch. Naruto had rolled out a sleeping bag on the featherbed Shikamaru kept in his closet and was happily snoring away. The girls must have taken his bed if they were out in the living room. He sat up and steadied himself, he was still feeling very drunk. A glass of water was on the table next to his phone. Someone must have sobered up enough to take care of everyone since Shikamaru couldn't imagine functioning well enough to get water a few hours ago. He chugged back the water and then reached for his phone. The brightness made his head spin before his eyes readjusted to the new light. He had a message from Temari. His eyebrows rose in surprise, not exactly sure what had happened back at the bar, other than the fact that he had acted like an idiot. He touched his lips thinking that she had kissed him back, and she hadn't half-assed it either.

 **T: Judo. Sunday 9am.**

Seriously?! This woman was fucked in the head if she thought he was going to go to the gym with her after she had very publicly rejected him. He set his phone face down on the table and rubbed his palms against his eyes, trying to clear his head. He stood carefully and crept through his bedroom and into the bathroom in complete darkness. As he turned on the light he jumped and suppressed a groan at the burning sensation building behind his eyeballs. He ran the water quietly and splashed it onto his face trying to settle the dizziness that was threatening to drop him to his knees. _Why do I do this to myself?_ He stood with his eyes closed and both hands clutching the edge of the sink. He tried to clear his head but he could only see the look on Temari's face as she pulled away from his kiss. She had such a vulnerable expression before she set her walls firmly in place and slapped him in the bar. Had she apologized, or was he imagining that too. He turned the water off and hit the light, stumbling quietly through the darkness to get back to his couch.

* * *

Whispers and the sound of plastic bags rustling woke Shikamaru much later that morning. He chose to stay still in his comfortable position and let his friends make their way out.

"Don't you think we should at least tell him before we go?"

"Naruto don't worry about it. I doubt he's going to remember anything anyways"

"Aw c'mon, the guy deserves a break. That was just... rough." Naruto and Ino grew quiet while Sakura (Shikamaru suspected) was gathering the last of Naruto's groceries from the fridge.

"Ino, you know him best so, just do what you think is right." Sakura spoke quietly and Shikamaru strained to hear more but couldn't make out more than hushed tones after that. He knew it would be best to just confront them but he couldn't find the willpower to move and start a fight. Besides, he had no idea what they were talking about anyways. The door clicked shut and Ino came around to the couch and curled up at Shikamaru's feet. He moaned under his pillow and rolled over to make more room.

"I know you're awake Shika." He peeked out from the corner of his nest and gave her a dark look. She sat carefully tucked into a ball, braiding and unbraiding a strand of long golden hair. He didn't say anything but glared at her for several moments before she sighed.

"Yes. There's something we should talk about."

"Temari..?" Shikamaru posed tentatively. Ino pulled on her braid harshly and shot him an angry look.

"That bitch tried to humiliate you last night and then- and then." She trailed off and threw her braid over her shoulder. "I can't even tell you though." She sighed and her expression softened to a sad look.

"Uhm, okay?" Shikamaru wasn't sure he even wanted to know if Ino was acting this weird. He squirmed into a sitting position and faced her from his corner. He took a deep breath and counted a couple beats before speaking. "So I was pretty blackout drunk last night, and to be honest the last thing I clearly remember is Temari slapping the hell out of me and me ordering more shots. Any chance you can fill me in?" Ino gave him a dark look and redirected her glare to the window.

"No chance. It's your own fault you drank too much- not that I blame you." She added as an afterthought. "Listen Shikamaru, as much as I hate to say it, you have to see Temari tomorrow. I can't explain it but she didn't.. mean, or I guess intend to slap you like that." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this. He let out a huge sigh and stood up to stretch.

"Okay Ino. Let's just drop it, I'm too hungover to think about this crap." Ino rolled her eyes but stood up next to him. "Coffee? Food?"

* * *

At the diner Shikamaru sat in a shady corner of the patio, hiding behind brown ray bans and a cup of coffee. Ino ordered something plain for him and a fruit and granola plate for herself. He raised his empty mug to the server before he could disappear on him. Ino babbled on about school while Shikamaru slowly sank further and further into his chair, melting in the now midday sun. Their server returned with plates of food and a whole coffee pot, much to Shikamaru's delight. Ino continued chattering about school life while taking birdlike bites of her meal in between sentences. Shikamaru nibbled on toast when a sudden thought popped into his mind.

"Sai." Ino stopped abruptly and furrowed her brow. "Is he an okay guy? Or is he another asshole like Sasuke that'll treat you like shit." Shikamaru braved a forkful of scrambled eggs and waited for Ino's response. Ino shrugged and gulped back the last of her coffee.

"Well, he's... different."

"Different?"

"Yeah, he's kind of awkward really, but in a sexy, mysterious kind of way." Ino blushed hard and Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"That's not really your type."

"Well excuse me for branching out!" Ino shoved a spoonful of granola into her mouth and chewed fiercely. Shikamaru raised his hands in surrender and the two finished their meals in comfortable silence.

After their meal, Shikamaru paid the bill and Ino dragged him back to his apartment.

"Can we go to the pool?" Ino chirped as she began fishing through her purse.

"Uhm, what?"

"Of course you would forget! You have like, the nicest rooftop pool/hot tub on the roof of your apartment complex and you don't even know of its existence." Shikamaru shrugged but was quite surprised he didn't know about this. "Besides, you're starting to get pale. You could use some sun." Shikamaru gave her an 'alright, alright' and went into his room for his swim shorts. Ino darted into his bathroom and yelled at him to not come in. _Obviously,_ he muttered under his breath. He changed and stood in his kitchen, leaning heavily against the fridge while waiting for Ino.

"Jesus woman what are you doing in there? There's probably not even anyone up there!" Ino threw open the door revealing a very tiny white gold bikini covered by a sheer t-shirt dress. There seemed to be a thin gold chain wrapped around her stomach and neck. "Are you wearing jewelry- Ah never mind lets just go." Ino twirled excitedly on the spot and linked her arm through Shikamaru's, dragging him out the door and into the elevator. As the doors closed Shikamaru hit the button for the roof, and noticing for the first time the word pool etched into the copper next to it. At the ring of the bell, the door opened to a glass dome area that showed a very scenic view of the city sprawling before them, and a clear blue pool set into the stone rooftop. As they exited the dome, Shikamaru noticed the hot tub bubbling to his left, unsurprisingly empty. Ino took off and claimed two deck chairs for them to lounge on. Shikamaru counted four occupants at the poolside, none of which he recognized. Once the chairs were set up. Ino pushed a large pair of round sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and started working on taking the perfect selfie for her Instagram. Shikamaru threw his towel down and pulled his shirt off. He laid down with his arms behind his head and watched the clouds drift by lazily, slowly lulling him to sleep along with Ino's mellow music playing softly next to him. After some time of drifting in and out of consciousness, Ino poked Shikamaru reminding him to roll over. He sleepily obeyed her order and immediately passed out again. Shikamaru awoke to cold drops of water being sprinkled on his back. He rolled over with a groan and immediately hissed in pain and jumped up. Ino giggled and covered her mouth.

"How long was I out for?" He quickly checked his surroundings and noticed they were now alone on the roof and that the sun was noticeably lower in the sky. He reached up to smooth his ponytail and noticed the bright red appendage in front oh him. "Oh my god, INO! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" Ino now burst into a full fit of laughter.

"Well it was too late before I noticed you were burnt on one side, so I flipped you to even you out." Shikamaru stood bewildered for a moment not sure how to even handle the betrayal he felt, when he noticed Ino was no longer connected to her phone.

"You're in deep shit Ino." She stopped mid laugh and burst into a shriek as Shikamaru grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"NO! SHIKAMARU I SWEAR TO GOD!" Shikamaru gritted his teeth against the pain of her nails digging into his shoulder blade as he took the three steps to the pool and jumped into the deep end, pushing Ino away from him at the last second so she couldn't drown him. He breached the surface a moment before Ino did and watched in horror as she broke through the water and let out a terrifying scream of rage. Shikamaru scrambled to swim away from the hell monster he had awoken but could not escape a mouthful of chlorinated water as Ino sent a vicious wave towards him. He coughed up the water and rested on the edge of the pool, letting Ino swim up next to him. One look at her messed up hair and running mascara was enough to send Shikamaru into a fit of laughter, and to his surprise, Ino began to laugh hysterically with him. They floated in the pool for a bit, making bad jokes and shooting half-hearted insults at each other until Shikamaru's stomach growled loudly. They dried off, packed up their things and headed back to the apartment. Once Ino was changed she decided it was time for her to leave and let Shikamaru do whatever he does when he's not asleep.

"Shika? Promise you'll go see Temari tomorrow?" Shikamaru caught her words but didn't face her directly. "Please?" He sighed heavily and walked over to open the door for her.

"Yeah whatever, I'll go see trouble." He rolled his eyes and pulled Ino into a hug. She squeezed him tightly and then gently tapped a finger against his nose with a goodbye. She bounced down the hall and Shikamaru shut the door behind her.

* * *

Night had almost completely taken over when Shikamaru's phone lit up at the edge of the room where he had abandoned it earlier. He paused his Netflix and shoved his dish out of the way to rest his laptop on the coffee table. He dropped to the floor and reached just far enough to grab his phone without standing up. He rolled onto his back and unlocked his phone to check his messages.

 **T: We should talk...** Shikamaru almost threw his phone in frustration but thought better of it. His heart had picked up at the sight of her name and he knew he was an idiot for being like this.

 **S: You could at least offer an apology**

 **T: ... No chance** Now he was actually kind of mad. He sat up and locked the phone, about to place it face down on the carpet again when it lit up with another message.

 **T: How about an explanation?** Shikamaru let the screen get dark while deciding whether or not he wanted to deal with this tonight or tomorrow. With a sigh he punched in a two letter response.

 **S: Ok**

 **T: Cool, be there in 5**

Shikamaru blinked at the phone. 5 minutes?! He jumped up, slammed his laptop closed, swiped his dish from the coffee table and tossed it haphazardly into the sink. He ran into his bedroom, kicking off his boxers and jumping into the shower. He yelped as hot water hit him and reminded him of his very fresh sunburn. He ran a bar of soap over himself as quickly as he could and brushed his teeth while turning up the water as warm as he dared. Upon jumping out, he toweled himself off and pulled on track pants (or appropriate sweats as Ino called them) and a tank top. He had his towel over his head as he saw his phone light up once again on the coffee table.

 **T: I'm here**

 **S: I'll buzz you in - 8** **th** **floor, last door on the right**

Shikamaru paced nervously from the door to his couch and back again, fighting to get his hair into some kind of ponytail. He realized a moment too late that it was rather dark in his apartment, with only the stove light accompanying the city lights to brighten the place up. There was a tentative knock on the door which broke his focus from the lighting, making him jump despite the fact he knew she was coming. He smoothly opened the door and was greeted by curly blonde hair and sharp eyes still rimmed with lingering eyeliner from the previous night.

"Temari." He breathed, fighting to keep the pang of guilt and anger he felt in his chest from his expression.

"Woah, have you ever heard of sunscreen?" Shikamaru frowned but only responded with a shrug.

"I blame Ino for this one." Temari raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She scanned the room quietly and stopped upon sight of his window, clearly drawn towards the beautiful city that sparkled outside.

"Wow, that's one hell of a view." She walked right up to the window and pressed her hand into the wall next to her, as if to brace herself so she wouldn't fall. Shikamaru pushed the door shut and stood still watching her, noticing the way the yellow light brought out her golden features of her skin tone and hair colour.

"Temari I..." He trailed off unsure if she had actually heard him. "I'm sorry for last night, honestly let's just pretend it never happened." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and waited awkwardly by the door for her response.

"Oh shut up lazy ass, there's no need to get all worked up and emotional over a dare." Shikamaru's eyebrows shot up and he walked over to the back of his couch.

"Wait, you knew?"

"It was kind of obvious. Also, you ruined my date." Shikamaru let out his breath and a small chuckle.

"Shit, then I'm really sorry. Did you... like the guy?" He felt so awkward asking. Temari drew her attention to Shikamaru catching him with a sarcastic look.

"I kinda had a thing for her, but she was pretty bummed out to start the date off with my lips being stolen by someone else. It kind of set the tone for the rest of the night." Shikamaru slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned loudly.

"Jesus christ Temari, you could have told me you were gay." She laughed loudly and took a seat on the couch patting the spot next to him.

"I'm not usually, just wanted to try something else." She smiled at him almost seductively, giving him several conflicting emotions.

"Oh. Well I'm sorry for the, uhm, kiss then. We can just forget about it and move on." Shikamaru stretched his legs out onto the table in front of him and watched Temari from the corner of his eye. She was aimlessly twirling a ringlet of hair around her finger, staring quietly into the night. They sat in silence for several minutes before Temari sighed and dropped her hands into her lap.

"Listen Shikamaru, there is no way in hell your first kiss with a girl like me should be drunk, sloppy and unmemorable. If you're gonna do something at least have the decency to put some damn effort into it."

"Wait, so... you want me to try again?"

"I never said that!" She smacked him half-heartedly on the arm and turned away with a sour expression.

"Yeah, but you never said you didn't." She grumbled wordlessly not denying of confirming. Shikamaru fought the urge to grin and the silence between them grew a little more comfortable. They sat for several more minutes before Temari yawned.

"So are you always this boring or do you have anything fun in your barren apartment?"

"Well it's slim pickings here. I have some cards, solo cups and ping pong balls." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh and Netflix, of course."

"Netflix it is then. I assume the lack of a tv means your laptop and phone are your only present technology." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and Temari grabbed the laptop off the coffee table, opening it up on her lap. "No password? That's brave of you." She clicked away and Shikamaru sighed and stood up.

"I don't usually have company, or if I do it's Ino and she would just hack into it if I set a password. Besides, anything important is locked or strategically hidden so I'm really not concerned."

"Huh, Ino does strike me as the overbearing, slightly inappropriate best friend." She paused and caught Shikamaru's eye as he passed. "I'm not wrong am I."

"Still, she is my best friend. Well... one of them." He paused but not quite long enough for Temari to comment back. "Have you eaten yet? Or are you thirsty or anything?" Temari continued going at the computer with one hand while tapping her finger against her chin in thought.

"Tea would be nice, and cookies if you have them!" She turned around to see what was going on when she hadn't heard movement for several seconds. Shikamaru was standing in the middle of his kitchen with the fridge and pantry door wide open, scratching his head aimlessly. "There's no cookies are there." Temari pouted. Shikamaru closed the doors and turned with a shrug.

"Seriously? I really want cookies that bad." Temari nodded and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "There's a convenience store across the street if you can wait ten minutes, but you better not trash my apartment while I'm gone."

"There's nothing even here to trash! I'll just hang out on the couch till you get back." She returned to browsing Netflix leaving Shikamaru to grumble and collect his wallet and keys. "I want the good chocolate chip ones!" Temari called from her seat.

"Troublesome woman." He muttered pulling the door closed behind him.

Temari waited to hear the sound of the elevator doors closing before she stood up. She walked quietly around the perimeter of the open apartment, running her hand across the countertop and walls as she did. It was actually a really nice, clean place she thought to herself, not having thought Shikamaru would care enough about living somewhere like this. She got to the bedroom door and it nudged open with the slightest pressure of her wandering fingers. She peeked through the crack before slipping through the doorway. She blindly felt around for a light switch and blinked to adjust once she had found it. The bed was made and it was immaculately clean besides a collection of laundry kicked to the corner. Temari jumped at the sight of her own reflection as she passed the full-length mirror mounted on the wall. _Damn I look like hell_ she whispered to herself. She was wearing black leggings and an oversized t-shirt with no makeup and her hair wild. She tried her best to smooth it down but knew it was beyond help until she could get to a straightener. That was when she noticed the picture of a young Ino, Shikamaru and a chubby, redheaded boy all grinning ear to ear. A small smile tugged at her lips as she could clearly see the bliss and love they all felt in that moment. With that she turned off the light and closed the door, returning to her spot on the couch.

Shikamaru returned in less than ten minutes – there had been no line at the store thankfully. As he entered his apartment he glanced around and saw that Temari was sitting in her same spot, with a movie paused on the intro. She was humming something sad and sweet while staring out the window, playing with her hair again. He took a couple minutes to make her tea, only interrupting her to ask if she needed milk or sugar. Once he made her snack he carefully brought it to her on a plate and snuggled into the opposite corner of the couch, pulling down the blanket off the back on throwing it over himself. Temari tugged the corner of it to cover her legs and started the movie.

* * *

Shikamaru was the first to wake up to the sound of soft music. He saw credits rolling on the screen and looked over at a sleeping Temari. With a yawn, he slowly sat up and closed his laptop. He knelt on the ground next to Temari and gently shook her shoulder.

"Temari, the movie's over." He whispered, trying not to startle her awake.

"No, I'msleepnow." She mumbled back at him, not moving otherwise. Shikamaru rubbed at his eyes sleepily, he wasn't going to leave her on the couch if she was staying. Besides, that was his favourite spot anyways.

"At least stay in the bed, I'll sleep here." He tried to take her hand and pull her up, but she just let it limply fall over the edge, mumbling nonsense in response. Shikamaru sighed and went to his room to turn down the bed. He returned and slid his arms under her legs and neck to pick her up. He grunted in surprise as she was heavier than Ino, who occasionally had to be carried as she often fell asleep at late night hangouts. She wasn't heavier in a bad way though, she felt strong in his arms. Temari rolled into his chest and rested her head against his neck with a sigh. He smiled and brushed his lips against the top of her head thoughtlessly. He carefully set her on the bed and tucked her in. As he turned to leave Temari reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Shikamaru." She barely breathed his name. He held his breath, standing perfectly still. "Don't go." Temari gently pulled him down to the bed and slid over so he could get in. He tugged his shirt over his head and slipped under the covers next to her. Temari shimmied next to him and tossed what looked like her pants onto the floor. They lay face to face, only inches apart, and just breathed each other in. Shikamaru slid his hand up between them tentatively. Temari responded and reached for it with her own. "Goodnight." She whispered sleepily from beneath the covers.

"Goodnight Temari."

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*The song Temari hums is Rob Viktum - 4/17/1975


End file.
